Singapore is about to receive ‘reverse’ vending machines that accept used bottles and cans according to a news report from the country.
RVM Systems, a Swedish vending machine company will install a range of reverse vending machines that can consume 100 containers at a time. Singapore already has 50 of the same sorts of machines rolled out by the NEA (National Environment Agency) and F&N Foods since 2019, the report said.
These machines dispense shopping rewards and ActiveSG credits as well as other incentives to encourage people to dispose of unwanted plastic bottles and drinks cans in a responsible manner, by placing them into these reverse vending machines.
Another Norwegian firm, Tomra, also launched a vending reversal centre in Singapore a month or so ago and will roll out their machines soon.
At the same time, Singapore is busy creating a return policy for beverage containers where the consumer receives a refund when the used bottles and cans are returned in order to up the domestic recycling rate which saw a decline 2020 and 2021, the report said.
A max capacity of 100 containers is rather small and likely to fill up very fast. In this case, the caretaker should be alerted in good time to empty the machine, at all hours, or else there will be many such machines out of action. That’s worth S$10 or 1,000 x 10c coins. Expect more activities after closing hours (or wee hours) of e.g. food courts and other drinking places. Perhaps, a stamping mechanism should be installed to flatten the containers to increase capacity. At the same time, the coins dispenser should be enlarged for the increased volume. How does the vending machine acknowledge and accept a genuine container, by its QR code, in its original shape, with a cap or tab in place? A fenced-up open space behind the vending machine for almost unlimited containers would solve many headaches, as long as there are sufficient coins to reimburse the recycling enthusiasts.
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Great news for the planet, congratulations on the initiative.