Tomra works with Pepsi subsidiary on reverse vending system

Tomra Collection Solutions has set up a pilot reverse vending machine (RVM) in-store return system for empty SodaStream carbonating CO₂ gas cylinders. SodaStream is a brand of PepsiCo that offers at-home sparkling beverage preparation products and systems.

“We hope the Tomra reverse vending solution will bring smoother logistics for both SodaStream retailers and customers, and make it even easier for ‘streamers’ to exchange their cylinders and do their part for the environment,” says Eyal Shohat, SodaStream’s CEO. “We take pride in partnering with an industry leader that shares our vision to make the beverage space more sustainable.”

Comments Anneli Forsman, senior vice president of Tomra Collection Solutions in Northern Europe, “This partnership expands the ways in which Tomra reduces waste in our environment. The closed-loop recycling of drink containers and now the facilitation of reusing CO₂ cylinders are examples of how Tomra is leading the way in contributing to a circular economy. We are delighted to bring Tomra reverse vending technologies beyond traditional can and bottle returns to new and meaningful applications.”

New SodaStream-branded RVMs are now being installed in retail stores in the European Union and the United States. In the U.S., Acme store locations participating in the pilot program include those in Greenwich, Connecticut; the Legends Way location in Boston; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts; and Waltham, Massachusetts.

SodaStream customers purchase CO₂ cylinders to make sparkling water or sparkling beverages in their homes. When a cylinder is empty, customers can return it and exchange it for a full one. Now, instead of interacting at a customer service desk or cashier to return the used cylinder (or coordinating an online shipping transaction), customers can place the empty cylinder in the RVM and receive a voucher for the value of the used cylinder. The voucher can act as a credit toward the purchase of a new CO₂ refill at the store in which the RVM operates.

SodaStream says returned cylinders go to SodaStream refill plants where they are cleaned, filled and sealed for reuse.

Tomra says more than 84,000 of its RVMs operate in more than 60 nations. Tomra Collection Solutions is part of the Norway-based Tomra Group, which also creates sensor-based recycling equipment.