Beverage Container Recycling: Reverse Vending Machines
Whether it's saving milk jugs, sorting newspapers neatly into a pile or placing unnecessary office paper in a corner recycling bin, Americans have experienced a transformation of their recycling psyches over the past two generations.
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Today many American homes have a designated space for newspapers and other recyclable materials, turning household recycling into an unreflective act of habit.
The transformation of our recycling psyche suggests that recycling rates move in proportion to the mental and physical ease associated with the task. Because recycling day compliments garbage pick up day, the success of curbside recycling programs can partially be attributed to habit. People learned to take out their recyclables the same way they learned to take out their gabage.
Today recycling is not only a common family habit, it's the thought driving an entire new generation of technology. Recycling businesses are springing up around the country based on machines with the ability to sort various materials.
Reverse vending machines were introduced at the height of the recycling wave
They can now be found in retail areas around the country. Their success can be partially traced to the pac-man generation's pleasure watching the machine gobble up one can or bottle at a time, awarding credits according to a predetermined formula. In many cases, the credit is the $.05 cent deposit required by a state beverage container recycling law.
Reverse vending machines also benefit merchants, who have traditionally absorbed the costs associated with sorting and storing beverage containers. Prices for the machines range from about $9,000 for single container refurbished machines to about $35,000 for higher volume multi-container (can, plastic, glass) machines. Over a short period of time the machines pay for themselves in terms of opening up sapce for new stock and reducing employee recycling work requirements to the amount of time necessary for machine maintenance.
Next time you are in the mood for a little environment fun, why not pack up the car with cans and kids and take them to the nearest reverse vending machine. It's great fun for the whole family.
© 2000-2007. Patricia A. Michaels. All rights reserved.