Abu Dhabi and Dubai alone generate close to 40,000 tonnes of solid waste daily, a rate which projects that most of the country's landfills may reach their capacities within the next decade. With statistics as staggering as they are, recycling, reuse and energy recovery are receiving a lot of government attention, and AVERDA, the largest waste management company in the region aims to highlight the value in waste through its unique reverse vending machines.
In 2013, AVERDA reverse vending machines retrieved over 1.2 million recyclables across the region, and in the UAE alone, the machines collected 46,148 recyclables--89 percent of which were plastic bottles. In the first quarter of 2014, these machines in the UAE have already recorded over 17,000 containers.
AVERDA launched standalone reverse vending machines in 2011 as part of its long-term plan to increase recycling rates. Primarily introduced as an interactive awareness-building tool, the reverse vending machine simplifies and incentivizes recycling to encourage a change in consumer behavior.
When an item is placed inside a reverse vending machine, it "reads" what material it is made of, and has an in-built safety mechanism, which only accepts empty containers that can be recycled. The bottles and cans amass inside the machine, and are segregated manually once collected.
"The reverse vending machine was developed with the view to educating and inspiring individuals and organizations to take responsibility for the correct disposal of their waste, while being rewarded in the process. Even a small incentive can have a huge impact on the decisions people make; why put your empty bottle in a trash can, when you can be rewarded for putting it in machine instead," says Jeroen Vincent, Chief Operating Officer, GCC, AVERDA.
To this end, AVERDA has partnered with Air Miles to provide users an added incentive to use the reverse vending machines to recycle. For every 1 unit deposited into the machines, users are awarded with two Air Miles.
Reverse vending machines are equipped with individual SIM cards, which communicate with a central system on the machine's status and activity. When nearly full, a message is sent to AVERDA, so the bottles and cans can be collected before reaching capacity. The system also assesses which machines receive more recyclables, allowing AVERDA to determine areas with the highest footfall.
An on-screen 'share' tool allows users to update their social networks with information on what and how much they have recycled. The machine's connectivity enables users to spread the word of how recycling can be rewarding--both literally and in the larger sense for the environment.