Municipal Recycling

RETAIL REDEMPTION

Tomra Pacific and its Tomra Recycling Network division, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., have introduced a pilot program of free-standing recycling redemption centers set up at retail centers in southern California.

Tomra has set up 60 rePLANET recycling centers at supermarket locations to accept cans, bottles and newspapers while offering cash in return. Tomra plans to keep opening an additional three to five centers per week in southern California at Stater Bros., Albertsons and Ralphs supermarkets. Each location will feature a free-standing building that houses an automated recycling machine that Tomra says “can simultaneously process empty glass, aluminum and plastic beverage containers using the latest in electro-optical recognition technology.”

The rePLANET centers and staffed weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., but the centers can also operate in a self-serve manner during the operating hours of the nearby supermarket. “We want to be the Starbucks of the recycling business,” says Tomra’s Greg Garvey. “With a clean, attractive facility, trained specialists available to answer recycling questions, and fun-to-use recycling machines, we hope to create a favorable recycling experience that will keep people coming back again and again.”

The recycling equipment housed in the center can accept up to 60 unsorted containers per minute. Internal cameras take pictures at the rate of 25 per second, recognizing and counting each container. The machine then computes the state of California redemption value and provides a receipt redeemable for cash in the adjacent supermarket. Newspaper stacks are measured by their thickness—and customers are paid accordingly—when the rePLANET centers are staffed.

“Californians are quite environmentally minded and buy more than 12 billion carbonated drinks in aluminum glass, plastic and bi-metal containers each year,” says Garvey. “With the success of our 10 sites, California has proven to be the perfect environment for the launch of our global recycling movement.”

WASTEBID.COM TRIES TO LINK GENERATORS, HAULERS

Generators of waste and recyclables and solid waste and recycling service companies now have a chance to link up through WasteBid.com.

Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc. (GBB), Fairfax, Va., registered the wastebid.com domain name in 1999 and has opened the site to register waste and recyclables haulers to qualify as WasteBid service providers. Companies and institutions interested in using the site to secure contracts for hauling and recycling services can also register.

The WasteBid system receives e-mail bids from haulers after customers electronically describe and post their current program and any additional waste handling or recycling needs.

According to GBB’s Harvey Gersh-man, haulers can save money on marketing expenses using the site. “Participating service providers can count on more sales and shorter sales cycles because they will have access to real-time opportunities,” he remarks.

Businesses and other waste generators looking for haulers or recycling service companies can save research and interviewing time and effort, he says. WasteBid’s revenues will arise from commission fees paid by the haulers for final transactions completed through the WasteBid site.