News

Nudge has collaborated with Norwegian recycling giant TOMRA on WA’s first trial of Reverse Vending Machines (RVM). The impressive technology could form the backbone of WA’s container deposit scheme being rolled out by the State Government next year.

The RVM kiosk is located at the Stockland Bull Creek shopping centre carpark for customers to trial each weekend from 9am to 5pm, giving customers a feel for the impressive technology.

Users can return and recycle their containers during the three-month trial, with TOMRA donating 10 cents per item to Nudge, a WA not-for-profit charity.

TOMRA’s kiosk will collect used cans, bottles, cartons and containers before they are transported to a sorting and recycling facility by rubbish collection company Cleanaway.

TOMRA Marketing Manager Rachel Draper said “We just wanted to give the Perth community a taste of the experience that the NSW, Queensland and Northern Territory have, to see what they could potentially expect when the scheme comes out,”

The company has been operating successful Reverse Vending Machine kiosks in Queensland, NSW and the NT, where they’ve collected billions of used containers and diverted tonnes of waste from landfill.

Customers who use the technology interstate can return used containers in designated kiosks across various cities in exchange for a cash payment, virtual voucher or donation to a charity.

In NSW alone, TOMRA has collected two billion containers in just 19 months ago, reducing beverage container waste by 57 per cent and raising nearly half a million dollars for charities.

Nudge Executive Director Ashley Little said the not-for-profit, which supports young people across WA in accessing the workforce, was stoked to be part of the trial.

“It’s a really exciting way to engage local people and communities for local job opportunities both for this trial and potentially longer term if things roll out next year,” he said.

Throughout the duration of the Bull Creek trial, Nudge ambassadors will be at the kiosk’s operating hours to promote the scheme and assist customers.

“The ambassadors are going to be here on Saturdays and Sundays to assist people, so straight away there’s employment opportunities there for those guys and then obviously the donation itself,” he said.