Tomra RVMs bound for Scotland, Slovakia

The Tomra Collection business unit of Norway-based Tomra Group says it has agreements to place multiple reverse vending machines (RVMs) to collect beverage bottles and cans in two different European nations: Slovakia and Scotland, in the United Kingdom.

In Slovakia, some 140 grocery stores belonging to U.K.-based retailer Tesco will soon be home to the RVMs, which can collect plastic beverage bottles and aluminum used beverage containers (UBCs).

Customers at Tesco stores in that nation will be able to start returning their empty containers to the Tomra RVMs when Slovakia’s new deposit return system launches on Jan. 1, 2022.

“RVMs enable the return of beverage containers in a deposit return system for recycling, for greater efficiency and convenience for both consumers and stores,” states Tomra. Under Slovakia’s new deposit system, return points for cans and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles will be required in grocery retailers with an area of more than 300 square meters (3,200 square feet).

“Tesco is a strong and proven business partner,” says Roman Postl, managing director of Tomra Collection Slovakia. “The key to the success of Slovakia’s new deposit return system is for consumers to value it and adopt it as their own, which can be achieved by making the system practical and convenient for them to participate in.”

Comments Martin Kuruc, CEO of Tesco in Slovakia, “Tesco has been contributing to building sustainability in Slovakia for 25 years, and we are committed to creating a system where packaging is treated as a valuable resource that can be used, re-used, collected and recycled in a closed loop. By 2025, all our own brand products will be 100 percent recyclable or reusable. We have already been preparing for the launch of the deposit-return system in January 2022 with a pilot project of reverse vending machines in the cities of Senec and Nitra.”

In Scotland, Tomra Collection UK & Ireland says it has signed an agreement with an undisclosed “major grocery retailer” to supply RMVs at its stores. Retailers in Scotland are getting ready for that country’s deposit-return system to go live on July 1, 2022.

States Truls Haug, managing director of Tomra UK & Ireland, “Since the legislation was announced, we have been preparing to supply the Scottish market with reverse vending technology and are at the ready to deliver the systems needed for all sizes of retailers prior to the commencement date.”

Adds Haug “Retailers across the country are making preparations, and the signing of this agreement with a major retailer, across its Scottish portfolio, is testament to that. Tomra is delighted to be selected for this work and looks forward to creating a great recycling experience for shoppers.”