Apeldoorn has a national first: the Netherlands’ first public deposit-return machines that deposit empty bottles and cans directly into an underground container. From now on, you can return your returnable bottles and cans at the recycling points at ’t Fort shopping centre and Ordenplein.
The official opening took place on the morning of Thursday 16 July, attended by Lisette Bosch (Director of Circulus), René Hissink (Director of TOMRA) and Lieke Tiemersma (Product Manager for RVM’s at Verpact).
The deposit return machines are open daily from 07:00 to 22:00. Not only can you return your deposit-bearing containers here, but you can also dispose of glass, paper and other recyclable materials. This means you can sort and return different types of waste in a single visit.
The deposit is paid out immediately via Tikkie or can be donated to a charity: the Sant’Egidio Foundation’s clothing bank. The returned bottles and cans are then recycled into new beverage containers. This helps to conserve valuable raw materials and reduces litter in the local area.
The deposit-return machines have been installed as a result of a partnership between Circulus, TOMRA, Verpact and the Municipality of Apeldoorn. Combining TOMRA’s deposit-return machines with Circulus’s underground containers creates a public return facility with a large storage capacity. The bottles and cans are compacted on site. This means the machines need to be emptied less frequently and collection can be organised more efficiently.
Through this pilot, the parties involved are investigating whether this innovative solution provides an efficient and accessible addition to the existing options for returning deposit-bearing packaging. If the pilot proves successful, the concept could also be rolled out to other locations in the Netherlands.
Jeroen Hillen, director of Statiegeld Nederland, part of Verpact: “At Verpact, we know that ease of return is the most important factor in getting more deposit-bearing packaging back. That is why we are constantly expanding our network of cash-paying collection points with new locations, bulk machines and partnerships, such as this one with Circulus, TOMRA and the municipality of Apeldoorn. By working together, we can recycle even more packaging into raw materials for new bottles and cans, prevent litter and close the loop. Because that is Verpact’s goal: to create a circular supply chain for packaging.”
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