Tomra Pacific Opens RePlanet Kiosk in California City

Tomra Pacific Inc., a unit of Tomra of North America, Shelton, Conn., has announced the opening of its first RePlanet recycling center in Tustin, Calif., on the grounds of an Albertson’s supermarket. The RePlanet kiosk will help consumers redeem their California Redemption Value (CRV) beverage containers.

The RePlanet center, a kiosk that sits in the Alberson’s parking lot, houses four bulk reverse vending machines (RVMs) that consumers can use to deposit their used glass, plastic and metal beverage containers. In return, consumers will receive vouchers to bring inside the Albertson’s store to redeem their CRV deposits.

“We are delighted to be working with the city of Tustin on this much-needed community service for residents. Those who previously only had access to curbside recycling—with no CRV cash benefit—can now return their beverage containers to a convenient, user-friendly and safe location, and gain the accompanying financial return,” says Adrian White, VP of business development at Tomra Pacific Inc.

RVMs automate the process of collecting and sorting beverage containers by material and size. Tomra’s patented recognition technology, Sure Return, provides continuous video surveillance of inserted items, ensuring correct deposit refunds for consumers and accounting accuracy for the store, according to the company.

Tomra Pacific will make personnel available to help the public learn how to use the machines. The company currently has more than 440 RePlanet centers in California and is responsible for recycling 3 billion containers in the state, 19 percent of the state total.