Frozen food bae Iceland has launched a reverse vending machine in its Fulham store, which rewards you for recycling.
The machine accepts any plastic drinks bottle bought from Iceland (it can tell if it’s from Iceland from the barcode, so don’t even think about it, you snakes), and gives customers a 10p voucher to spend in store for each item deposited.
This comes after the government announced plans for a , where consumers would pay an upfront deposit every time they purchase a drink in a container.
The machine is being trialled in Iceland’s Fulham store for six months and if successful, will be rolled out nationwide.
How does the machine work?
Say hello to my little friend
Step one: Pop your bottles in
Step two: Let the machine know when you’re done being all cute and environmentally friendly
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Step three: Receive your voucher and whisper a soft and loving, ‘Thank you’ to the machine
What’s the point of this machine, though?
Glad you asked – it’s estimated that over 12 million tonnes of plastic enters the world’s oceans every year, and unless we take drastic action, .
Iceland’s managing director Richard Walker is a keen surfer, so he’s seen first-hand the devastating effects of plastic pollution in the water.
‘A nationwide deposit return system will stop millions of plastic bottles escaping into the environment annually, and stem the tidal wave of plastics swamping our coastlines,’ Hugo Tagholm, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage said about the news.
‘Surfers Against Sewage would like to congratulate Iceland on their continued leadership to tackle plastic pollution through the trial of a reverse vending machine to understand how customers will respond to the new system.
‘This puts the power in customers’ hands to say no to plastic pollution and incentivises them to participate in the proven solutions for a plastic-free ocean.’
More:
Iceland is hurtling ahead in the ‘which supermarket cares the most about the environment?’ stakes, after becoming by 2023.
The supermarket recently to stop using palm oil in all own brand products by the end of 2018.
Now, we’re not telling you what to spend your vouchers on, but may we suggest the delicious , or a bag of hash brown fries?
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