Green Vision Bahrain introduces Reverse Vending Machines to encourage recycling

Green Vision Bahrain has come up with a Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) system, where anyone who deposits a plastic bottle or aluminium can will be rewarded with a code that can be used to collect points online allowing the recycler to redeem the points to get airline tickets, electronics or toys.

The innovative technology was set up after Green Vision Bahrain signed an agreement with Beirut-based waste management firm Averda who have designed and implemented similar reverse vending machines in more than nine countries.

Implementation of the scheme is due to be rolled out by mid-February, says the senior public relations of Green Vision, Ahlam Khalifa.

The RVMs would be set up in stages, first hitting the private schools and universities, then major malls around the country and later, as the machine becomes more familiar, they will eventually be placed in industrial areas and areas with laborers as they consume a lot of canned and bottled drinks on sites, says Khalifa.