Reverse vending

A co-operative venture between Stirlingshire Vending and Reverse Vending Corporation brings reVend & Spend, a product innovation that utilizes advanced technology to identify, sort, collect and process used beverage containers. Reverse vending machines (RVMs) are as the name suggests, vending machines that allow consumers to deposit used beverage containers. Instead of spewing out junk food, the machines invite customers to insert their trash for recycling. Once a customer deposits a used container, the machine sorts it and crushes, compresses or shreds, reading a container’s barcode to determine the type of material. Capacity varies per model, but stand alone machines hold 1000 cans and/or PET bottles before needing to be emptied. The machines run on about 40 watts of electricity per day. The basic premise behind the concept is that consumers get the ‘feel good factor’ by doing something for the environment in an easy and efficient way. Machines can come fitted with a modem that monitors the success of the machine and can publish recycling statistics. In the future, award schemes could be set up whereby organizations/schools can be recognized and awarded for how much they’ve recycled. Machines can also be fitted to dispense vouchers which customers can collect and cash in as further incentive to reVend. Ideal for workplaces or schools, it’s a great way to excite children about recycling. Every large company, school, shopping mall and tourist attraction could do with a few of these machines. That’s a big market. If you’re an entrepreneur with a thing for vending machines, get in touch with ReVend!