Envirobank offers vending machines to swap plastic bottles for treats

In some parts of the world when you recycle drink containers you are rewarded with a few pennies. However Australia and Envirobank are taking things to the next level with the container deposit plan. This is an ingenious way to get people to recycle empty bottles and cans by way of a reverse vending machine.

[Image Source: EnviroBank]

The Cash For Containers plan is a simple concept that lets people take their empty bottles and cans and put them into the vending machine in return for a choice of an award, which may be vouchers or cash. For instance, people can choose bus ticket vouchers, tickets to see a movie, chocolate bars and various other goodies in return for their empty cans or bottles.

Envirobank are the company behind the Cash For Containers plan and they are hoping that by offering people a choice of rewards they will recycle a lot more of their waste and not just throw it away. They said that it can take hundreds of years for plastic bottles and cans to break down.

[Image Source: EnviroBank]

Getting involved with the project is simple. People have to register for the scheme and they are then given their own membership card. All they have to do then is take this to the vending machine and swipe it and then put the bottles or cans they want to recycle into a chute and press a button. The machine then gives people crunch credits for recycling and the option to choose any offer that is displayed on the machine. The vending machines are able to accept as many as 30 plastic bottles or 40 cans every minute, with the machine being able to hold 3000 cans or 1600 bottles at a time in compacted form before it need to be emptied.