Environment-friendly vending machines will boost recycling rates

Hundreds of vending machines that reward people for recycling cans and bottles will be installed in Sydney this year, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

The machines accept empty cans or bottles, crush them and issue the user a discount shopping docket. The first unit has been installed at the International Grammar School in Ultimo, an inner city suburb. More machines will be placed in shopping malls and some other public spaces, and are expected to boost recycling rates at the expense of littering.

The company behind the machines, Envirobank, claims it will cut carbon emissions by sending clean, crushed material straight to recycling depots, rather than it having to be trucked to a waste processing plant.

"The material is sorted inside the machine, so it can go straight to be recycled, which bypasses having to be sorted at the tip," said Narelle Anderson, Envirobank MD.

The machines are able to scan the barcode of a can or bottle and can play a short, related advertisement on LCD screens. Although the recycling units are new to Australia, they've been used successfully for years in other countries.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald