Pick n Pay expands recycling initiative with installation of reverse vending machines 

SOUTH AFRICA—Pick n Pay, a South African grocery retailer, is installing 10 Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) across their stores in a bid to advance its commitment to environmental sustainability.

The RVMs, to be set up in stores across Gauteng, Eastern, and Western Cape, will incentivize customers to recycle their waste by offering digital cash and vouchers as rewards.

This is expected to stimulate engagement and raise awareness of environmental stewardship.

Piloted in 2018, the project has already demonstrated success, with 22,000 users across 11 sites and close to 280,000 units recycled, resulting in payouts exceeding R5,800 (US$$310) to customers for recycling materials.

Pick n Pay is rolling out these machines in partnership with Polyco, a plastic packaging recycling company in South Africa that runs a “Million Plus” campaign teaching South African how easy it is to recycle plastics.

Through the partnership, Pick n Pay has introduced the machines in ten more stores, and approximately 20 more are scheduled to be rolled out through a supplier partnership mid-year.

For customers to receive these incentives, all they need to do is dispose of an item with an identifiable barcode in one of the machines. The machines will be strategically placed to make recycling convenient.

Steffen Burrows, Pick n Pay’s sustainability manager, has emphasized on the importance of instilling a responsible recycling culture among customers by providing incentives.

He noted that customers are already motivated to reuse and recycle, but the aim is to promote broader cultural change.

“We’re encouraging shoppers to keep items for recycling in their cars and bring them into our stores when they shop. It’s also great if you’ve just finished your juice box or bottle of cold drink in-store and can claim the recycling rebate straight away,” he added.

Each RVM can store between 650 and 750 waste items (equivalent to around 375 two-liter milk bottles), and has sensors to monitor capacity, automatically alerting the waste management provider when they need emptying.

Rewards from the RVMs are determined based on the weight and type of material deposited.

Prices typically average around 10 cents for a PET bottle, 15 cents for a can, and 11 cents for a glass bottle – popular rewards chosen by customers include airtime and data purchases.

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