Tray-return system may not work when diners forgo small deposit

The deposit of 50 cents or S$1 for trays recently rolled out at two hawker centres may not be that successful, in my opinion (“Pay for your tray; Two hawker centres to start charging deposits for food trays”; Jan 29).

Firstly, most elders may not be that familiar with the procedures, and Singaporeans’ habit of leaving the table after a meal at an eatery without clearing their trays is hard to change.

Secondly, there will be a large majority of diners who will choose to forgo that deposit. They find it a hassle to take their trays to the machine and would rather treat that deposit as a form of “service fee” for the cleaners clearing the tables.

There are other reasons to forgo the small deposit: If they have no strength to carry the tray, they may drop the tray with bowls and cutleries on the way to the machine, or to save time during peak hours when diners are queuing at the machine to retrieve their deposits.

After all, 50 cents to S$1 is not a big amount for most diners. Most restaurants already charge 10 per cent of the total bill for service.

Thirdly, some patrons who really want to beat the system and save themselves the deposit may order their food to go at an added cost of maybe 20 to 30 cents for the disposable takeaway pack, but later find a table and eat the food there. After that, they may throw the disposable pack at a rubbish bin, or worse, walk off and leave it there. This is not environment-friendly, and it still means that cleaners have to clear the tables, but it can happen.

We have seen supermarkets offering trolley services where users pay a deposit of S$1. Yet, there is still that small group of shoppers who will push the trolleys home, unload their groceries, and cast the trolley aside along the void deck of the housing blocks. They are willing to forgo that deposit for their own convenience.

And who is to say that this wouldn’t be the same case for such automated tray-return systems?