A reverse vending machine designed to accept plastic bottles and aluminium cans has been unveiled King’s Cross in central London by Veolia and restaurant chain LEON, following research that suggests 81% of people would “go out their way” to deposit a bottle or can.
The pilot will operate for six months to encourage people to recycle while on the go. Any bottle returned will receive a voucher worth 10% off the bill at the nearest LEON restaurant.
The pilot has been designed around consumers to target the disposable drinks containers most commonly discarded on the go – bottles under 750ml as well as aluminium cans in order to make it easy for people to recycle, reduce littering and enable more materials to be salvaged.
The reverse vending machine is located under West Handyside Canopy, adjacent to Granary Square in King’s Cross. Depositing a plastic bottle (up to 750ml) or an aluminium can in the machine will entitle you to a voucher worth 10% off the bill at the LEON in St Pancras Square a few minutes’ walk away. One voucher is redeemable per purchase.
YouGov research suggests:
- 27% of people would walk less than 5 minutes to deposit a bottle or can in a reverse vending machine. 29% would walk between 5-10 minutes, 11% would walk between 10-15 minutes, 5% would walk between 15-20 minutes and 10% would walk 20 minutes or over. This means 81% of people are prepared to walk for a certain amount of time to use a reverse vending machine
- Majority of people (almost two-thirds – 64%) are primarily motivated to recycle because of an obligation to the environment – as opposed to 3% who do it as a result of societal pressure or 5% who aren’t motivated by anything.
Richard Kirkman, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, Veolia UK & Ireland said: “A UK-wide deposit return scheme is imperative if we want to round up the millions of stray plastic bottles and cans we as a country are not recycling. This pilot Veolia is conducting with LEON is the yardstick for on the go recycling.
“Located in a high footfall area and targeting the drinks containers most commonly misplaced – plastic bottles up to 750ml and aluminium cans – the machine offers an alternative to carrying recyclable items home or discarding as litter. Our research shows people are motivated to recycle, they care about the environment and the vast majority are poised to use a machine like ours when a reasonable walk away.
Richard Kirkman, Veolia UK & Ireland – “A UK-wide deposit return scheme is imperative if we want to round up the millions of stray plastic bottles and cans we as a country are not recycling. This pilot Veolia is conducting with LEON is the yardstick for on the go recycling.”
“Veolia will collect and process the machine’s contents, ultimately transporting the bottles and cans to be recycled into new products. We hope as the pilot unfolds, it proves the importance of recycling on the go as well as the need for appropriate infrastructure to facilitate it.”
John Vincent, CEO & Co-Founder of LEON, said: “At LEON we’ve been committed to being the most sustainable business we can be since we opened our first restaurant in 2004. Through our Planet LOVe programme launched in 2019, we will carry on investing in new ways to reduce single use plastics and find better recycling solutions because, put simply, the planet needs us to.
“We’re really excited about this partnership with Veolia because we know that, as an industry, we need to push for the right facilities and infrastructure to ensure better recycling and reuse – this is a great step forward. And we can’t wait to welcome all the recycling warriors into our restaurants and reward their efforts with a little thank you from us.”
Steven Kellett, Sustainability Manager at King’s Cross Central Limited partnership (KCCLP) commented: “We want King’s Cross to continue to be an exemplar of sustainable development and we see the way in which waste is managed as a key part of this.
“We are proud that we don’t send any waste to landfill but we want to improve the amount of plastic waste that gets recycled from public areas and ultimately eliminate single use plastics.”