Do I need to remove labels from my containers?

Short answer: No, you don’t need to remove labels or caps from your containers before recycling them.

Recycling systems in Singapore are designed to handle labels and caps, meaning they will be processed during sorting and recycling. If the system couldn’t handle them, it simply wouldn’t work—after all, very few people actually take the time to remove labels.

That said, removing labels and caps can make the recycling process more efficient. If you want to go the extra mile:

• Remove labels where possible—this helps speed up processing at recycling facilities.
• Remove lids and caps when they are made of a different material than the container (e.g., a metal cap on a glass bottle).
• Especially for metal lids, removing them and placing them in the bin separately ensures they get recycled as metal. Otherwise, they may end up as contaminants in the waste glass stream and be discarded.

One Important Exception

When Singapore’s National Deposit Return Scheme for rolls out, keeping the label on plastic bottles will be crucial. These labels contain barcodes used for tracking and deposit refunds. If you remove the label, the recycling machine may reject the bottle, and you won’t get your deposit back.

tl;dr: don't stress out about it, but if you want to go the extra mile, go for it.