'Reverse' Vending Machine Rewards Recycling

[antilycus]

and yet, if you take yoru cans to a recycling yard you get .35 to .95 per pound. Last time i got 28 bucks

 

[terr281]

It depends on the state, but in some locations a crushed can can not be returned for deposit/recycle. In the end, the cans are all melted down and reformed. However, during the first and second stages of recycling (person bringing cans to the recycle bin/company) in states without deposits, some people crush cans with rocks in them to increase the weight and get more money.

As a result, from an integrated machine point of view, the same issue could occur. Person: "I wonder what happens if a put rocks in the can and put it in the machine? I know it crushes them..." What are the repair costs of fixing the integrated can crusher every time this happens?

 

[Franklin Hennersdorfer]

Revolutionary? By what standards? I mean, these machines have been around for at least 15 years, our local grocery stores have used them for customers to return plastic bottles to the store for the 5 cent deposit, so much easier for them that it mashes the bottles up so they take far less space. Then you get a reciept from the machine you can turn in to a cashier at the store for your cash. I live in Maine, where the heck are you living that these are considered 'revolutionary'? Uganda? Zimbabwe? Texas?

 

[wcooper007]

Okay so why in the heck is texas brought into this uhh hello without texas you wouldnt have uhh wait for it Texas instruments who is one of the founders of computers so shut your stupid pie hole

 

[anthropophaginian]

We get charged in some places to get to a recycling centre around here. I wouldn't mind one of these around.

 

[decrypted]

Scam the Machine... When I was young we had one nearby that weighed the aluminum and gave you cash back. Sooooo, we would fill the bottom of the cans with rock, sand, you name it. We would get like $3.00 for 8 cans. After a few months, they pulled the machine. haha

 

[Guest]

This is a dumb ruse. There is more evidence that recycling actually hurts the environment MORE than it helps. Just like the alleged "global warming". What a joke. Again, there is more evidence that we are in global cooling not global warming. I guess it just goes to show you..........people may be inherently good but people ARE inherently stupid. They will fall for anything.

 

[razor512]

these have been around for like 25 years already

at like most stores in NY, you can take any bottle or can and slide them in, then the machine prints out something in which you hand to a cashier in the store and they hand you money. at 5 cents per bottle.

you save additional money by getting a bulk purchase of soda, eg 32-64 cans or bottles of soda (many stores such as costco and other warehouse stores sell them.

when you buy in bulk, the price of each soda generally comes down to like 15-18 cents each, then when you insert the empty cans in the recycle machines, you get 5 cents back on each can

 

[razor512]

forgot to add, recycling for points will mean you will get less back. many services that offer points have things like the work you put in only gets like 1 or 2 points, and then to redeem your points, you need like a minimum 50 thousand or some other crap high number, you are better off using the older machines that give you money and use that money to buy what ever the points would otherwise get you. you will get the item much faster and it will take less of your time and money.

reward point systems are just all garbage.
for example, my friend signed up for a Nealson shopping program where you scan the barcodes and enter prices of items you buy each week. each item then gets you points. He used it for 6 years, every time he went to the store, he only made enough to get like a cheap AM/FM radio (not quite worth the 6 years of work )

 

[jacobdrj]

I don't see what the big deal is. In Michigan, we have had recycling machines for over 10 years. By law, since before I moved to Michigan in 1988, there has been a 10 cent deposit. From what others have told me, it has made the roads cleaner, as someone is always looking to get their 10 cents.

The only difference here is that you don't get cash per se, and it is viable even in other states where there are no deposit laws.

IMHO the deposit laws should be expanded in Michigan: 25 cents per soft drink, and include water bottles too! More people drink water from disposable water bottles now than soda/beer. People are not recycling these items because of it.

 

[gilamonsterz]

can it play crysis?

 

[eddieroolz]

[citation][nom]jacobdrj[/nom]I don't see what the big deal is. In Michigan, we have had recycling machines for over 10 years. By law, since before I moved to Michigan in 1988, there has been a 10 cent deposit. From what others have told me, it has made the roads cleaner, as someone is always looking to get their 10 cents. The only difference here is that you don't get cash per se, and it is viable even in other states where there are no deposit laws.IMHO the deposit laws should be expanded in Michigan: 25 cents per soft drink, and include water bottles too! More people drink water from disposable water bottles now than soda/beer. People are not recycling these items because of it.[/citation]

We also have that in BC as well. I rarely see pop cans on the road, since all the bums are collecting them for money.

As some of you know, we're also huge about Tim Hortons coffee - and at some point, there were talks of having deposits for coffee cups as well.

I personally think deposits would work very well. It gives incentive to collect them. But the best solution is simply education - there's a reason why places like Japan have almost no trash on the road.

 

[gilamonsterz]

[citation][nom]markus007[/nom]This is a dumb ruse. There is more evidence that recycling actually hurts the environment MORE than it helps. Just like the alleged "global warming". What a joke. Again, there is more evidence that we are in global cooling not global warming. I guess it just goes to show you..........people may be inherently good but people ARE inherently stupid. They will fall for anything.[/citation]

I happen to disagree with the global warming sensationalizing as well, but calling everyone who disagrees with you "stupid" doesn't go very far in winning support.

This machine, and other inventions like it (such as hybrids, home solar panels/windmills) many times don't make a lot of sense economically, and I keep hearing arguments that because it doesn't save money, it isn't worthwhile. I'm fairly certain (yes, i'm making an assumption) that this machine, between manufacturing, utilities, maintenance, etc will cause more environmental problems that it fixes. But raising awareness goes a long way, and even if , like me, you think global warming is wishy washy, why wouldn't you want to recycle? Who cares if it costs us a little extra? It's a good thing to do to combat our wastefulness (How much garbage do we take to the curb EVERY WEEK? I try not to think about it )

 

[spks19]

Why not just install a bag-o-cola type co2 unit into fridges. This way you don't need a fricking container to hold the beverage, just shoot it out of the fridge into a glass. Then you have only some cardboard and a plastic bag containing fractions of the plastic used in bottles. We need to get rid of all containers, both plastic and aluminum (especially single serving sized).

Recycling works, however it takes a lot of energy and time to get it done(energy + time = money). If you just had a glass that you washed at home, and reused it, then all that time and money would be saved and you just expend some energy of your own, and use a little bit of water. Guess what, water is renewable.

 

[alextheblue]

[citation][nom]hellwig[/nom]Can deposit programs are scams. I grew up in a state without can deposits. Growing up, I always thought that you just got 5 or 10 cents back for the can. Not until I moved to a state with deposits did I realize that you actually paid the deposit to the store when you purchased the product. Yeah, they collect 5 or 10 cents for each can and bottle from you. You have to redeem the cans to get your own money back!If they just made recycling easier, more people would do it. My home-state has curb-side recycling. You throw all your cans and plastics into a single bag, they collect it every week like the garbage, and they sort it at the recycling center. That's a hell of a lot easier than charging me 10 cents that I then have to redeem by feeding individual cans into the machine at the store.[/citation]I couldn't agree more.

 

[guanyu210379]

This is not a new machine...we have also something similar here where I live since years..

 

[tmc]

Yup, expect the deposit program to extend deposit for water bottles (less than 1 gallon) recycling to go NATIONAL very soon. Don't forget a fraction of the 5 or 10 cents goes into your home state's coffers when YOU pay the deposit on the containers. No doubt sooner or later the deposit for 5 cent containers will bump to 10 cents per container.. you know.. inFLATion & a further nudge at recycling.

 

[Jimmy22]

+1 to Governor Schwarzenegger for introducing this to california. I like to think that each can gets shipped directly to him so that he can personally crush them.

 

[crinky]

[citation][nom]schwiing[/nom]"Dream Machine"? Sounds like an apple product.[/citation]
i-can dream

 

[Stardude82]

It sounds like a Coinstar... for cans. CRV is nothing new.. we should probably refill containers like in Germany. They also really don't like aluminum cans over there.