Businesses such as soft drinks manufacturer Coca-Cola, retail giants the Co-op and Morrisons, and theme park owner Merlin Entertainments are supporting the green scheme, in an effort to limit the use of plastic and to encourage consumers to recycle more.
? Rokas / Adobe Stock
What is reverse recycling?
Supermarkets and other businesses are looking to get involved in the reverse recycling initiative. The idea is to reward consumers with cash-back and other incentives for returning plastic waste, such as empty bottles, to be recycled.
Supermarket chain Iceland is a major supporter and has participated in a pilot scheme for a reverse vending machine. This has resulted in customers returning an amazing 310,000 plastic bottles for recycling so far.
Shoppers using the UK's first supermarket reverse vending machine in Iceland in Fulham receive a token entitling them to cash off their shopping when they deposit a plastic bottle in the machine.
The vending machine, installed in 2018, is simple to use and so far has received 100% positive feedback from both staff and customers. After the successful six-month trial at Iceland's Fulham store, the vending machines were also rolled out in Wolverhampton, Musselburgh, Mold and the company's head office at Deeside.
The machine pays customers 10p per bottle that they return, in the form of a voucher that can be spent in Iceland. The supermarket installed the machines in stores following the government's proposal in March 2018 to introduce the recycling deposit returns scheme.
History of the machines
The idea of consumers receiving a cash reward after returning an empty container isn't a new one. In fact, the first patent for such a machine (called the Empty Container Return and Handling Machine) was filed in the United States by Elmer Jones and Sue Walker Vance on 13th September 1920. Their design included a coin return mechanism.
The idea didn't become a reality until the late 1950s, when the first working Bottle Return Machine was created and manufactured by a Swedish company called Wicanders. A more advanced version, the Automatic Bottle Return Machine was designed in 1962 by Norwegian businessman Aage Tveitan and manufactured by his company, Arthur Tveitan ASA.
The latest generation of reverse vending machines can automate the collection and recycling of thousands of used drinks containers every week. There are now more than 100,000 such machines all over the world.
RVM Systems Ltd, a leading UK manufacturer of the vending machines, installed the one in Iceland in Fulham. The company says the capabilities of the reverse vending technology provide a range of initiatives that will increase the value of the recycling experience for both the supermarket and the customers.
What rewards are on offer?
Coca-Cola Great Britain joined forces with Merlin Entertainments (the owner of UK attractions such as Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures, Legoland Windsor and Alton Towers) to offer half-price entry in exchange for used plastic drink bottles.
Launched in 2018, the scheme invited visitors to take along and recycle any 500ml plastic bottle in the on-site vending machines. It was launched following research by Coca-Cola, which revealed 64% of people would recycle more if they received an instant reward for their actions.
The machines installed at Merlin?s leading attractions rewarded those who deposited empty bottles with a voucher entitling them to 50% off their admission price at 30 participating Merlin sites across the UK. Coca-Cola said it was the first initiative of its kind and that it provided a valuable reward worth up to ?27 off entry prices.
The machines used for the scheme are called CafeCrush and are owned by recycling company Unisan. Deposited bottles are crushed: they are not contaminated by any other waste, meaning they are ideal for recycling.
Is this the future of recycling?
The reverse recycling scheme could be the future for waste at outdoor music events - a notorious producer of excess plastic waste. Summer music festivals continually receive bad press when it comes to litter, but retail chain the Co-op is trying to change this.
The retailer is launching a pilot deposit return scheme at several UK music festivals to boost plastic recycling. The Co-op is installing "pop-up stores" at sites such as the Download festival held in Leicestershire, Latitude in Suffolk, Reading Festival and Leeds Festival.
Revellers who recycle their plastic bottles will receive a cash voucher to spend at a Co-op store. The retailer is planning to trial the machines in some regular Co-op stores if the pilot scheme goes well.
All of the used bottles collected at the music festivals will be recycled by the Co-op to produce new bottles for its own brand of bottled water. The Co-op is running the scheme in conjunction with Festival Republic - an organisation that manages some of the UK?s biggest music festivals.
In addition, more than 60 UK music festivals have agreed to ban plastic straws and to eliminate single-use plastic by 2021.
Should people be rewarded for recycling?
According to a study carried out by recycling rewards company Greenredeem, 25% of adults would recycle more if they were rewarded for doing so. The company's white paper, Rewards and Recycling, written in conjunction with Toni Juniper, was based on research carried out with 1,677 adults.
Around one-quarter of respondents said they would recycle more if they were given something tangible in exchange, including money, vouchers, or cut-price goods and services. In addition, 27% of respondents said they currently didn't recycle because they wouldn't receive any personal reward for doing so.
However, opponents fear it will simply encourage people to create more waste to receive cash and other rewards. They claim the "carrot and stick" approach rewards people for producing more recyclable waste, when instead, it should tackle the amount they produce in the first place.
James Garvey, the author of numerous books, including The Ethics of Climate Change, is one of the critics of the scheme. He claims the rewards that people receive for recycling disposable items enable them to buy yet more disposable goods.
He believes the scheme does nothing to tackle what he says is the source of the majority of household waste - the unnecessary packaging used by suppliers and shops. Garvey claims this behaviour needs to be tackled at source to change people's thinking and to stop unnecessary use of resources in the first place.
Responsible use of plastics
Solent Plastics recognises the importance of preserving the environment for future generations. As a responsible business, we actively promote recycling and the careful use of plastic products.
Our range includes Euronorm ECO recycled plastic Euro containers made from recycled polypropylene. The product line is suitable for commercial, industrial and domestic use.
We also supply recycling waste bins to help schools, businesses and organisations with their own recycling initiatives.