The council last week unanimously awarded a contract to Olyns Inc. to provide the city with a reverse vending machine. The maximum cost: $35,000.
Reverse vending machines are “defined as machines that pay customers for beverage containers placed in the machine,” according to CalRecycle.com.
Discussion
During the council meeting, Assistant City Manager Jocelyn Francis said the machine can crush containers. She also said that the reverse vending machine’s app includes a leaderboard to show who is recycling the most.
Francis said the RVM was connected to internet and would provide real time monitoring of the machine.
Francis provided the council with a timeline. CalRecycle is expected to certify the project in September. The reverse vending machine would go live in October.
Francis said the machine can hold up to 2,200 containers. She said its footprint would be 12 square feet.
Mayor Anni Marshall said she thought Vons should be paying for the reverse vending machine. “We should not be paying for this,” Marshall said.
Marshall said Vons was supposed to create some sort of recycling when they built their facility and they never have.
“But this is wonderful news,” Marshall said.
Councilmember Mary Schickling liked the proposal. “But I’m also concerned. I mean, I know it’s an electronic age but not everybody has a phone,” Schickling said.
“What about the people that want to do this and they they can’t do the app on their phone or whatever,” Schickling said.
“There’s no money in there, ever, right?” Schickling asked.
Assistant City Manager Francis said that was something the city would continue working on with CalRecycle, with CR&R, Vons, and other storefronts. According to Francis, they were a cash option for CRV Redemption.
Schickling suggested a card reader for someone with a prepaid Visa card.
“That was a big concern when the gas station went to no cash and just credit cards only,” Schickling said.
Marshall said this would keep people from having to take cans to the mainland.
Councilmember Lisa Lavelle said she was curious to see how much the recycling pick up for CR&R drops.
Councilmember Yesenia De La Rosa wanted the city to ask for regular cleanup in the area.
Francis said there were liners inside each of the containers.
Councilmember Michael Ponce moved approval.
Francis told the council there is CalRecycle grant money available.
“The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) administers a program to provide opportunities to support start-up costs for recycling programs, which shall be limited to recycling centers, satellite mobile recycling, reverse vending machines, or bag drop programs,” according to CalRecycle’s website.
“These funds are also available to existing recycling centers for the purposes of establishing satellite mobile recycling to expand outreach. The flexibility in the program will encourage the recycling centers to be innovative and increase California Refund Value,” according to CalRecycle’s website.
