Reverse vending machines to be installed to encourage aluminium can recycling in Wyndham

Reverse vending machines will be installed across the municipality to help people go green, Wyndham Council, in Victoria, Australia says. The council said it will be first council to install the machines.

The unusual approach will let Wyndham residents deposit plastic bottles and aluminium cans in return for vouchers to Aquapulse and other facilities. Roll out of the machines is part of the council’s environmental and waste reduction strategies.

Wyndham council’s director of sustainable development Dean Rochfort said three machines would be installed for a three-year period.

“The machines will be installed over the next 12 months with council currently working to determine the most suitable locations for them, based on where they will have the most impact on litter levels,” he said.

Cr Gibbons said only 36 per cent of household waste which includes substantial volumes of aluminium cans and plastic bottles was recycled and almost a quarter of recycling bins contained items that could not be re-used or recycled.

“This is why this strategy focusing on waste and litter is critical,” he said.

He said the council was also committed to reducing illegal littering and dumping.

Werribee River Association president John Forrester said any innovation to prevent littering was welcomed. He said plastic bottles and cans were a problem and was glad to see something done to tackle the issue.

The organisation holds regular clean ups and the amount of plastic bottles and aluminium cans collected was well into the hundreds, the president said.

A similar scheme operates in Sydney with vending machines rewarding users who deposit plastic bottles with tokens and rewards.