Canberra’s first reverse vending machine is now operating at Erindale Shopping Centre in Wanniassa, as part of City Services’ Container Deposit Scheme.
Announced by Minister for Transport and City Services, Chris Steel, reverse vending machines allow people to insert intact and non-crushed containers to be automatically counted and sorted with a refund paid directly into the user’s account.
“Canberrans are doing a great job recycling their containers, with more than 298 million returned since the Scheme began in 2018,” Mr Steel said.
“There are still many containers that are not being recycled through the Scheme and we are looking at ways to make it more convenient and accessible to the public to get their deposit back,” he said.
“A new reverse vending machine will be tested at Erindale to see if it provides a convenient alternative, in addition to the existing Return-it collection shopfronts and drop-off points around Canberra.”
Mr Steel said the six-month trial return point would be open seven days a week, with on-site customer assistance from 9am to 5.30pm daily for the first three months.
The Minister said the new machine was capable of holding up to 8,000 intact and non-crushed containers at once and required only 10 minutes to be emptied.
“Next time you’re returning eligible containers in the Tuggeranong region, try out the Erindale reverse vending machine to get 10 cents back per container, while helping the environment at the same time,” he said.
Further information on the new machine can be accessed at this PS News link.
