'Reverse' vending machine turns your recycling into cash

A 'REVERSE vending machine' which gives out rewards for recycling is on trial in Middlesbrough - the first local authority in the UK.

- By KIRSTIE MCCRUM

Instead of providing bottles and cans in exchange for cash, the machine receives empties and rewards the donor.

The RVM100 reverse vending machine has been installed as part of a trial at the Community Grocery eco shop at St Barnabas Church in Linthorpe.

The Middlesbrough pilot - the first of its kind by a local authority in the UK - was suggested by Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke when he saw a similar machine during a recent trip to Finland.

And if the trial proves successful, Middlesbrough Council chiefs have pledged to extend the scheme to other sites across the town.