Australia, America and Europe are installing reverse recycling vending machines in shopping centres and the rewards range from bus tickets to food vouchers. Dropping your empty cans into a vending machine and getting coupons or vouchers, would be very a handy reward for your good efforts. The reverse recycling vending machines would be a win-win situation: clean environment, reduction in pollution, reduction in producing new materials, increasing environmental awareness and making more money.
"Any form of collection of recyclable waste would assist the environment. Reverse vending machines could work in certain areas of South Africa, but we need to also look at the challenges of getting the cans to the metal recycling facilities," said Derick Engelbrecht, director of Trade and Exports at Waste Plan.
Recycling needs to be fun. People like having fun while doing something to save the environment and of course getting more than just that 'I have just done something to save the environment' feeling. More environmental awareness needs to be raised and what better way to do it with a bit of fun, by keeping people on their toes and getting value for their trash.
South Africa is regarded as a developing country. Encouraging recycling by installing reverse recycling vending machines in shopping centres around the country would contribute to sustainable development. However, Engelbrecht cautioned that whether it would assist the economy is debatable as the challenges of collection from the proposed vendor would be difficult due to achieving payload in the transport back to a material recovery facility. People with low incomes can benefit a lot from this system, as could everyone.
South Africans are ready to recycle in such a rewarding, fun way if shopping centre owners and managers were to have the reverse recycling vending machines installed in their malls.
