Supermarket in North Cork installs second 'reverse vending machine' to recycle aluminium cans and PET bottles

The German grocery brand, Aldi has introduced its current ‘reverse vending machine’ trial for the second time in a North Cork store in Ireland, as a segment of its latest recycling initiative. Consumers can easily return their bottles and aluminium cans followed by Aldi giving the collected earnings to a selected charity.

The German supermarket chain has vouched to donate £1,000 each month to the Irish children’s charity, namely Barnardos.

After the first successful mounting of a recycling unit in Mitchelstown’s Aldi store, Cork is going to witness a surge in new machine instalments across various stores around the region in the upcoming months. A second installation has been completed in the Mallow shop strengthening the company’s green initiative.

From July 18, consumers are being instructed to submit their PET plastic bottles (up to 3 litres in volume) and aluminium beverage cans to the reverse vending machine hoisted at the Mallow store.

The Mitchelstown Aldi outlet had witnessed a substantial demand spike since its introduction of the vending machine in February 2022. Customers have promptly utilised the machine to recycle almost 12,500 PET plastic bottles and aluminium cans, with the commitment of donating £1,000 each month to Barnardos intact since its inception.

Aldi spokesperson, Colin Breslin exclaimed they are excited to lodge a second machine in their Mallow store, "following the success of our initial reverse vending machine at our Mitchelstown store."

He commented: "Our new Cork-based machine has an even larger capacity, meaning we can make a greater impact on the environment and with our charity partner Barnardos. Through this initiative, we’re encouraging our customers to give to Barnardos, which is doing amazing work with vulnerable children and families, while also helping to improve the environment.”

The CEO of Barnardos, Suzanne Connolly, accepted the donations from the initiative and ensured that the "€1,000 monthly donation from ALDI will help make a real difference to the vulnerable children and families we work with across the country.”

"Barnardos has been supporting children and families for 60 years, and we know that the funds generated from this scheme will have a real positive impact on the lives of children across Ireland,” she concluded.

Aldi has been anointed as ‘Ireland’s Most Sustainable Supermarket’ by Irish consumers during the Ireland RepTrak Sustainability Index 2021. The supermarket chain has also been honoured with the ‘Green Retailer’ award at the Green Awards ceremony held in 2022.