Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 29, 1994 TAG: 9405290016
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-15 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LIZ SZABO The Fairfax Journal
DATELINE: CHANTILLY (AP) LENGTH: Medium
The MU 2000 is the latest in a line of "reverse vending machines" made by Chantilly-based Environmental Products Corp. It's designed to make recycling easier.
With the typical vending machine, a consumer deposits change in exchange for a can of soda. With the recycling machine, a consumer deposits an empty beverage container and the machine spits out either a cash deposit or a paper receipt.
Environmental Products launched the MU 2000 in April during Earth Day celebrations at the Environmental Protection Agency, agency spokesman George Shelton said.
The MU 2000 can hold up to 47,500 aluminum cans, 17,200 plastic containers and 21,078 glass bottles, said Charles S. Rigby, executive vice president for Environmental Products. The machines shred the containers into confetti-sized pieces at a speed of 80 containers a minute.
More than 4,000 older models of the machine are used in states that issue cash deposits for recycled beverage containers, Rigby said.
In New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Oregon, consumers receive 5 cents for every beverage container they recycle. Michigan residents receive a 10-cent deposit and consumers in California receive different amounts depending on the product being returned, Rigby said.
Many of the original recycling machines are installed in supermarkets. Consumers typically redeem their paper receipts at the market's customer service desk. The machines also have a button that allows customers to donate their deposits to local charity.
A prototype of the MU 2000 - which improves on the company's original design by storing plastic, glass or aluminum in one unit, rather than separate machines - has been installed at EPA headquarters, Rigby said. In place of coins are receipts redeemable at the mall.
Because Virginia does not have a bottle deposit law, Rigby said Environmental Products will market its machines to municipalities, rather than supermarkets.
by CNB