Machines that exchange trash for credit coupons arrive in Curitiba

With five recycling machines in Curitiba, approximately 12,000 packages have been collected. Photo: Disclosure/Ambipar Triciclo.

A proposal already established in European countries, such as Germany, to promote recycling, is beginning to take up space in the capital of Paraná. Recycling machines that exchange disposable packaging for credit coupons have been installed in markets in Curitiba. The “Retorna Machine” is a reverse vending machine that accepts steel, plastic, glass, and other materials.

In Germany, one of the world’s leading recyclers, the value returned to the consumer varies depending on the type of material. The system is similar to the machines placed in Curitiba. For each deposited package, the customer receives a discount coupon for use in telephone bills, bookstores, and digital banks (PagBank and MercadoPago).

To do this, it is necessary to register with the Triciclo Loyalty Program through the Ambipar Triciclo website or app. The consumer, when depositing the packaging, starts accumulating “tricoins,” the name of the program’s coins.

“We have a program focused on post-consumer collection and reverse logistics. The machines are designed to buy packaging from people and collect bottles or cans, for example. The machines are part of our system and [the packaging] goes to recycling industries, comprising the entire recycling and reuse chain,” explained the CEO of Ambipar Triciclo, Felipe Cury.

He mentioned that a consumer who delivers an aluminum package receives 15 tricoins. For plastic, steel, and long-life packaging, it’s 10 tricoins per package. And for glass, the person receives 5. Cury emphasized that there is a gamification system: as the consumer recycles more, the points will increase, and the tricoins will become more valuable.

With five machines in Curitiba, 12,218 packages were collected, and over 6,500 consumers used the equipment. According to the CEO of Ambipar Triciclo, this action, quite common in other countries, has been adapted for Brazil. “This started in Europe in the 1980s, it’s widespread in Asia. In large countries like well-established Germany, there is a machine on every corner. In Beijing alone, there are over 2,000 machines,” he compared.

According to Cury, there are three aspects of impact generated by the recycling machines: environmental, social, and economic. “The environmental measure is capturing post-consumer waste, generating monetization. This source of income is a form of social benefit. When we talk about smart cities, they are the ones that evolve in the availability of services with a focus on sustainable development,” he stated.

Later this August, five more machines will be installed in the capital of Paraná. The company’s intention is to have 20 machines by December and expand this operation to the interior, such as Ponta Grossa, in the first half of 2024.

In total, there are already 13 capitals with recycling machines throughout Brazil, with 25 million packages collected nationwide and 250,000 registered users.

CEO believes Curitiba will embrace recycling machines

Curitiba is known for sustainability actions, with the development of environmental education programs, composting, and selective waste collection. The average recycling rate for waste is 22.5%, according to the Municipal Department of the Environment. The national average in Brazil is 3%.

Due to the capital’s history, the CEO of Ambipar Triciclo believes that Curitiba residents will embrace reverse vending machines. He mentioned that on the first day the equipment debuted at Rede Festval in the Batel neighborhood, 130 accounts were opened.

“I’m sure that, due to the local culture, Curitiba residents will embrace it. And not so much for individual benefits, but an embrace based on cultural and educational factors, focused on environmental awareness,” Cury emphasized.

Where to find reverse vending machines in Curitiba

There are two machines installed in Festval network stores in Batel, at 880 Coronel Dulcídio Street and 641 Brigadeiro Franco Street, Mercês. Other machines are installed at Lojas Americanas in Shopping Estação, and two more in Sams Club stores.

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