REVERSE VENDING MACHINES CAN SUPPORT PLASTIC BOTTLES RECYCLING
REVERSE VENDING MACHINES CAN SUPPORT PLASTIC BOTTLES RECYCLING
After many years of promoting the recycling of plastic bottles and aluminum cans in the Philippines, we must finally admit a hard truth: compliance remains low. Despite endless seminars, posters, slogans, and coastal cleanups, plastic waste continues to clog our rivers, flood our streets, and end up in the sea. Compared with other countries, we are clearly lagging behind.
So let me ask the obvious question: Is it not about time that we try another approach?
One promising solution is the use of Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs). These machines flip the idea of vending on its head. Instead of buying something, you insert an empty plastic bottle or aluminum can—and the machine gives something back.
The process is simple. A consumer inserts a used bottle or can. The machine scans it using barcode readers and material-recognition sensors to confirm that it is eligible. Once accepted, the container is crushed and sorted—PET bottles separated from aluminum cans. In return, the user receives a reward: cash, store credit, discount coupons, or even the option to donate to a charity.
This is not theoretical. RVMs have been tested and proven in many countries, and they work—because they combine technology with incentives.
Globally, RVMs are most effective when paired with a Container Deposit Scheme (CDS), also known as a “bottle bill.” Under this system, a small refundable deposit is added to the price of a beverage. Return the container, get your money back. Simple.
Countries that use this approach report recycling rates of 80% to over 90%. Germany’s “Pfand” system exceeds 98%. Norway consistently recovers more than 90% of its bottles. Even countries that introduced CDS later, such as Lithuania and Australia, quickly achieved impressive results. The lesson is clear: when bottles have value, people do not throw them away.
RVMs also solve another major problem—quality. These machines collect clean, segregated materials. Clean PET bottles can be recycled into new bottles. Aluminum cans, which are infinitely recyclable, save over 90% of the energy required to produce new aluminum from raw ore. This is what we call closed-loop recycling—and it is far superior to mixed-waste recovery.
This is where the local innovation comes in. Spurway Enterprises is now selling and leasing RVMs to schools and LGUs, while designing creative incentive systems to encourage voluntary participation. Yes, many people genuinely want to help the environment. But let us be honest: incentives help. A small reward can turn good intentions into daily habits.
Spurway has already reached out to the League of Cities and Municipalities and to major beverage producers such as Coca-Cola Philippines. That is encouraging. But technology alone is not enough.
LGUs must step up. Local ordinances can support RVM deployment by adopting a local Container Deposit Scheme, designating collection points in malls, markets, transport hubs, and schools, and integrating RVMs into existing solid waste programs. Producers, for their part, should see this not as a burden but as a responsibility under extended producer responsibility laws.
The plastic crisis will not be solved by guilt alone. It will be solved by systems that make the right choice easy—and rewarding.
We have tried moral persuasion for decades. It has not worked. Perhaps it is time to let smart machines, smart policies, and smart incentives do what endless lectures could not.
If other countries can turn trash into value, why can’t we?
RAMON IKE V. SENERES
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