Coca-Cola launches reverse vending machines at Scottish colleges to boost recycling

In partnership with the environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) has installed reverse vending machines (RVMs) at New College Lanarkshire. This initiative allows students to recycle their empty plastic bottles and aluminum cans in exchange for credits, reported The Mirror US.

How the Coca-Cola pilot works?

Students at the Motherwell, Coatbridge, and Cumbernauld campuses near Glasgow will receive 20p, or $0.27, each time they recycle an eligible item. They can then use the credits in on-campus canteens, helping students earn some extra cash and encouraging sustainable behaviors.

Jo Padwick, representing Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Great Britain, was quoted in The Cool Down report, saying, “Giving students the chance to live with a Deposit Return Scheme, something that will soon be part of everyday life, will allow us to see firsthand how people interact with RVMs in reality.”

She added that hearing directly from students during the four-week trial will provide valuable insights into the barriers to recycling and what truly motivates people to take part.

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Why incentives work

According to the TCD report, research showed that financial incentives are a proven way to boost recycling rates. A 2023 study by Ball Packaging and Eunomia revealed that nine of the 10 US states with the highest recycling rates operate deposit return or refund schemes. By contrast, none of the states with the lowest recycling rates offer such incentives.

Globally, deposit return schemes have demonstrated both environmental and economic benefits. According to Resource Recycling Magazine, if a nationwide scheme were introduced in the US, an estimated 447 billion beverage containers could be recycled annually, generating material worth $5.5 billion and cutting 34.1 million tonnes of emissions, the equivalent of saving 3.5 billion gallons of petrol.

Coca-Cola’s mixed record

This initiative emerges during a period of increasing scrutiny towards Coca-Cola regarding the amount of branded plastic waste it generates as the largest producer in the world.

While the company has faced criticism in the past, programs like the Scottish pilot prefer images of them doing less harm and encourage behaviors to reduce waste, which repositions both of those circumstances.

For students, a financial incentive is a practical tool to think about playing a part at some level in making greener choices now and in the future.

A flavorful bonus

Separately, Coca-Cola has also announced the return of an old favorite flavor (in the future). Diet Coke Lime will return to store shelves for a limited time on October 6, with new retro-inspired packaging based on what they used to use in the 1980s and 1990s. The flavor was introduced in the early 2000s and discontinued for almost 14 years before it returned, the Mirror US report added.

FAQs

Q1: What is a reverse vending machine?

A reverse vending machine accepts used bottles and cans, scans them, and provides a financial credit to the recycler.

Q2: How much will students earn per recycled item?

Students will earn 20 pence (around $0.27) per eligible bottle or can.

Q3: Where is the scheme running?

At New College Lanarkshire’s campuses in Motherwell, Coatbridge, and Cumbernauld, near Glasgow.