26-05-2025
Coca-Cola Machines Now Pay You for Empty Bottles
Imagine getting rewarded just for doing the right thing — that's what Coca-Cola is doing to fight plastic pollution and promote sustainable habits. The beverage giant is rolling out Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) that pay you back in points for every empty bottle you return.
Coca-Cola's Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) are innovative recycling kiosks designed to encourage sustainable behavior by rewarding users for recycling empty beverage containers. Depending on the model, these machines accept plastic bottles and aluminum cans, scanning each item to verify its recyclability. Once accepted, the containers are compacted and stored for collection. Users earn reward points through a connected mobile app, which can be redeemed for discounts on Coca-Cola products or other incentives.
This initiative promotes recycling and supports Coca-Cola's broader sustainability goals by integrating recycled materials back into the production cycle. It's a much-needed positive step for Coca-Cola, one of the world's largest plastic polluters.
While RVMs themselves have a longer history (the first prototype by TOMRA was established in 1972), Coca-Cola'' specific initiative to incorporate them into their recycling and reward programs appears to have started in July 2018 during the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle.
These pilot machines were part of the company's 'World Without Waste' initiative, aiming to collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can it sells globally by 2030. The RVMs allowed visitors to deposit PET bottles or aluminum cans, with each item triggering a five-cent donation to Special Olympics Washington and providing participants with additional resources via text message.
Shortly after, in the same month, Coca-Cola Great Britain partnered with Merlin Entertainments to launch a summer trial of RVMs at several UK theme parks, including Alton Towers Resort and LEGOLAND Windsor. These early implementations marked Coca-Cola's initial steps in integrating RVMs into public spaces, which have since expanded to various regions, including India.
In India, the first RVM was installed in 2016. At that time, the benefits of using RVMs were mostly framed as societal contributions through charity and donations, rather than personal rewards. Several years later, RVMs can now be found across various regions in the country, and as of this writing, these machines personally reward recyclers with points that can be redeemed for perks. The most recent installations of RVMs in India were in Puri, Odisha.
Installed by Biocrux India Pvt. Ltd., these machines are capable of compacting plastic bottles by up to 70%, storing as many as 800 bottles before collection. Users are rewarded with points for every bottle deposited through the Biocrux mobile app, which can be redeemed for discounts on Coca-Cola products.
The collected plastic is responsibly recycled into new materials such as clothing, bags, and secondary packaging. Equipped with digital display screens, the machines also serve as platforms for environmental education and foster community involvement. A centralized dashboard enables remote monitoring of machine performance to ensure operational efficiency.
During the project inauguration, Abhimanyu Behera, Executive Officer of Puri Municipality, emphasized the importance of collaboration: 'Maintaining cleanliness in Puri is a shared responsibility that requires strong collaboration between public and private stakeholders. We appreciate the efforts of Coca-Cola India and its partners in supporting waste management and recycling through technology and public participation. Initiatives like this not only enhance civic engagement but also set a precedent for other cities to follow.'
Rajesh Ayapilla, Senior Director of Sustainability and CSR at Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, highlighted the collective nature of waste management: 'Waste management requires long-term collaboration between industry, citizens, and government. By introducing reverse vending machines in Puri, we're enabling people to take simple yet meaningful steps to make recycling part of everyday behaviour. This effort complements our ongoing public awareness campaign, Maidaan Saaf, which encourages collective responsibility and action around recycling and waste management.'
These efforts align with Coca-Cola's global Partner to Collect ambition, which is a key element of its broader sustainability goals. The commitment focuses on strengthening packaging recovery by investing in effective collection systems and increasing the use of recycled materials in primary packaging.
Sources: The Cool Down, Media Brief
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