Reverse vending machine

A reverse vending machine is a device that accepts used (empty) beverage containers and returns money to the user (the reverse of the typical vending cycle). The machines are popular in places that have mandatory recycling laws or container deposit legislation.

In some places, bottlers paid funds into a centralized pool to be dispersed to people who recycled the containers. Any excess funds were to be used for general environmental cleanup. [ [http://www.bottlebill.com/ Bottle Bill Resource Guide] ]

In other places, such as Norway, the state mandated that a vendor pay for recycled bottles, but left the system in the hands of private industry.

The dominant vendor of reverse vending machines is Tomra of Norway, while there is also some competion from smaller companies such as Envipco and Repant.

Using a Reverse Vending Machine

The recycler places the empty bottle/can into the receiving aperture; the horizontal in-feed system allows the user to insert containers quickly and easily. (An alternative system, found in many older machines, is one in which the user opens a door by hand and places the empty container in a pan. When the door is released and closed, the process continues.) The bottle/can is then automatically rotated; the bottle/can is then scanned by a OnmiDirectional UPC Scanner, which scans the beverage container’s UPC code. Once a container is scanned, identified (matched to database) and determined to be a participating container, it is processed and typically crushed to reduce its size, to avoid spillages of liquid and to increase storage capacity. The machines can use material recognition instead/as well as bar code scanner when needed. [ [http://www.reversevending.co.uk/Using_a_Reverse_Vending_Machine.php Description of use of a reverse vending machine from reVend, UK] ]

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