I took the decision in 2005 to enter the unknown world of recycling, seeing it as a natural partner for vending. Realising that sooner rather than later there would be a requirement to assist customers in being ‘green', I wanted to demonstrate our contribution towards social responsibility in real terms.

Through our subsidiary company, Recycling Options, we procured appropriately designed machines that could neatly sit with our vending range, or indeed, stand alone. We now have a comprehensive range of high quality, robust reverse vending machines made by world leading manufacturers Envipco. But there is more, we also have a new selection of cup, can and bottle recovery units, more suited to support individual vending units or locations with smaller footfalls. With over 20 years in the industry I was well aware that used cup recovery in the UK put our sector ahead of others with recycling, long before national and European recycling legislation and targets. Through Save-a-Cup, the vending industry had established a mechanism that demonstrates producer responsibility long before it became fashionable. As a leading UK independent vending company, I wanted to build on this tradition.

Options now has contracts with schools and colleges, brand-owners and a major supermarket, bringing reverse vending to the UK. Machines may be installed as stand alone units, fully branded or enclosed within a kiosk. The latter configurations are ideally suited for supermarket car parks, universities and local authority amenity sites and may include vending units. As all machines are equipped to reward recyclers, recovery levels will increase encouraged by imaginative incentive programmes. Monmouth Community College has achieved an average in excess of 15,000 recovered containers per month since September 2007!

Our experience with urban facilities programmes in Athens (pictured above) illustrated how effective recycling can be when bought to the modern city or town street-scene, while costs may be offset through high profile advertising and sponsorship. This is an exciting area for development in the UK.

Options Management has recently begun installing its new ‘Eco-Verter' cup collector as a low-cost entry to recycling. This automated machine recovers used cups, sleeves them, stores them and offers customers a token or monetary reward for recycling.

The machine is slim and elegant and sits neatly with many full size hot drinks vending machines. One such partnership is with Pour Moi, offering coffee shop quality drinks in 12oz cups installed as static or fully managed units. These are branded to complement the ethos of Pour Moi and recycling, looking impressive whilst adding ‘green' values to services provided. Alternatively the Eco-Verter may be located in any refreshment area, canteen or vending bank acting as a central recovery point for used cups.

Holding up to 2,500 sleeved cups, each machine initiates a reward system once cups are recognised by censors, issuing a token or coin for the customer. Using this, promotional options may provide random free drinks, BOGOF or a straight rebate on new purchases.

There are various packages on offer, particularly for corporate and manufacturing organisations, call centres, schools, universities and colleges, where recycling and waste management are high on their corporate social responsibility agenda.

I forecast that this new machine will be a positive step forward for cup recovery. It rewards customers and has the capacity to reduce litter in any location where hot drinks vending is the norm. From an industry viewpoint, it complements the work of Save-a-Cup and I look forward to see how we might both work together in the future.

http://www.options-management.co.uk/

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