#reverse vending machine

The reverse vending machine market is anticipated to witness high growth owing to rising focus on effective waste management and recycling across various countries. A reverse vending machine is an automated machine that accepts used containers like plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and returns money or a voucher to the user. It allows easy collection and sorting of recyclable materials like plastic, glass, aluminum, and ensures high recovery rates. The growing environmental concerns and strict norms regarding the disposal of waste have boosted the deployment of reverse vending machines globally.

The Global Reverse Vending Machine Market is estimated to be valued at USD 468.2 Mn in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 701.4 Mn by 2031, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.94% from 2024 to 2031.

Reverse vending machines simplify the recycling process and encourage consumers to recycle through incentives like cash rewards or loyalty points. They play a vital role in effective waste management by collecting and sorting materials according to their type for easy recycling. The increasing instances of single-use plastic ban across nations will also propel the demand for reverse vending machines to encourage recycling. Key Takeaways Key players operating in the reverse vending machine market are Aco Recycling, Ake Environmental Technologies, Diebold Nixdorf, Endlos Innovations Private Limited, Envipco Holding N.V., Kansmacker International, RVM Systems AS, Sielaff GmbH & Co. KG, Tomra Systems ASA, Teraoka Seiko Co. Ltd., Trautwein, Veolia, and Zeleno. Tomra Systems, a leading provider of sensor-based sorting solutions, has a strong presence in the reverse vending machine business and offers intelligent reverse vending machines for container recycling globally. Envipco operates in over 20 countries and provides customized reverse vending solutions to retailers and consumers. The recyclable packaging waste generated globally presents significant opportunities for Reverse Vending Machine Market Growth. According to estimates, more than 1.9 billion tons of recyclable waste is generated annually worldwide. Growing volumes of packaging waste coupled with regulations supporting its collection will drive the demand for reverse vending solutions. Major players are expanding their global footprint by offering customized reverse vending machines suitable for local recycling practices in different countries and regions. Market Drivers and Restraints Growing environmental regulations regarding plastic waste disposal is a key driver for the reverse vending machine market. Governments across countries are implementing strict norms to curb single-use plastics. For instance, the EU has imposed landfill and incineration bans on recyclable plastic packaging waste. This is anticipated to positively impact reverse vending machine demand. High initial investments associated with the procurement and installation of Reverse Vending Machine Companies can restrain market growth. Retrofitting and infrastructure upgrade requirements further add to the overall costs. Technical challenges during reverse vending machine operations related to material identification accuracy pose difficulties. This necessitates continual technology advancements to enrich sorting effectiveness and accuracy.

Segment Analysis The reverse vending machine market is dominated by the non-refundable segment as it accounts for the largest market share currently. This is due to the rising demand for effective recycling of PET bottles, aluminum cans, and other packaging that are non-refundable in nature. The non-refundable segment holds a significant portion of the total recyclable waste generated worldwide. Reverse vending machines facilitate the collection and recycling of non-refundable packaging items on a large scale at high volumes. Global Analysis The Europe region holds the largest share in the reverse vending machine market currently due to stringent regulations regarding waste collection and recycling. Countries like Germany, Norway, and Sweden have adopted reverse vending extensively to meet recycling targets. However, the Asia Pacific region is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period owing to rapid industrialization, rising environmental awareness, and implementation of regulatory policies in emerging economies such as India and China for effective waste management practices. The increasing focus toward reducing carbon footprint and promotion of circular economy initiatives will continue to drive the reverse vending machine market globally in the upcoming years.

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Guess how much we already recycle through household recycling bins?

60%.

60% gets recycled of a target 77% BECAUSE it’s convenient and you already pay for a green bin. They cite the glass bottle recycling without noting that the most commonly used/reused glass bottles were for milk. And what you did with that was put out the empty milk bottles for the milk man to collect when bringing new milk. Which was convenient!

There are 6000 retailers who’ll be selling bottles and cans with the deposit on them, but only 1800 collection points so far. Apparently 2–4k have said they’ll implement it but the options are a recycling machine at a cost of 15000 to the retailer and that’s only if you have space inside – storing it outside costs an additional 11–12000. If you don’t want a machine you can get someone to take the bottles over the counter. The goal is to get the producers (namely Coca Cola, lbr) to take back their plastic but it’s costing retailers who FAMOUSLY barely bother staffing properly money to take back the bottles. If the machine breaks it’s the manufacturer’s issue. If the store doesn’t want to take the bottles they’re not obliged to. Some places are going to have a 10km+ drive to get the bottles to a place that’ll take them.

They keep comparing it to Germany, but in Germany there are FIVE home refuse bin options. There are public paper and cardboard and plastic recycling facilities we don’t have. They separate their food waste and grass waste. You could opt to not have a recycling bin and still recycle. Here you pay for a green bin and you’re penalised if you RECYCLE TOO MUCH.

So 1800 facilities for 6000 stores. You can only use your recouped deposit on the store you’ve returned the bottles to. You now have a half empty green bin cause you can’t recycle soft plastics here. It’s hard to not look at this as a tax on time and convenience AND setting us up to fail to meet a target that could be met if you, say, introduced public on-street green bins like they do in functional countries. Or if they really wanted to do this, stagger the roll out. Small bottles first, see if it works. The plan is if you buy a 6 pack of cans of soft drink it’s 15c deposit per item. It’s a bullshit amount of money cause people will just throw them away rather than queue to use a machine that might break inside the door of the supermarket to collect a voucher that might give them a couple quid off their otherwise astronomically priced shop. I cannot see this working and it makes me so angry to think that they’re literally pretending it’s an incentive when it isn’t, the entire thing is poorly planned out and not comparable to any other initiative. The 15c levy on plastic bags worked because they introduced bag for life. There isn’t an alternative here unless retailers want to offer refills, I guess? And the levy on cans is absolute bollocks because plastic and metal are not recycled the same way

AND they can’t explain where the material goes. They say “to be recycled”. In our favourite comparison Germany, the producers must recycle the bottles or reuse them. Here they’re probably ultimately going to China.