A new large capacity bottle return machine being tested at two Meijer stores in Michigan could revolutionize how customers redeem their 10-cent refunds. The machines developed by TOMRA allow consumers to drop a significant number of empty bottles and cans in at the same time rather than inserting them one by one.
The machines then calculate the number of containers eligible for a refund and process them for recycling. The Michigan EGLE provided a grant for TOMRA to purchase and install the machines.
Meijer stores in Waterford and Wyoming near Grand Rapids are the first to deploy the machines as part of a pilot program.