Return Machine collects around 5,000 packages in the first month in Rio

A sustainable solution that started operating on August 1st seeks to encourage the correct disposal of recyclable materials. Machines were installed in several stations of the Carioca Metro. Reproduction/Tricycle

About 5 thousand recyclable packages have already been collected by Return Machine in one month of operation in Rio de Janeiro. The machine, which started operating in the capital of Rio de Janeiro on August 1, is a sustainable solution created by a company to encourage the correct disposal of recyclable materials. It works like a bank where you have an account, but your currency is the waste that you properly dispose of in the machine. Each package, like cans and bottles, has a specific score. The accumulated points can be exchanged for benefits, such as credits for cell phone recharge, transportation, money in a digital bank and discounts at bookstores and even on the electricity bill.

In Rio de Janeiro, for now, there are 20 pieces of equipment scattered throughout the subway stations. More than a thousand people have already registered on the platform. The expectation is to increase these numbers and reach more than 10 thousand packages discarded in the machines per month. According to Felipe Cury, CEO of Triciclo, the company responsible for the Return Machine, the idea is to encourage good behavior through a kind of bonus.

Those who pass by the subway evaluate the initiative as curious and interesting.

All waste discarded in the machine is collected and taken to sheds of the company that implemented the action for sorting and classification. After cleaning, the material is sent to cooperatives and companies in the sector for recycling, thus generating employment, raw materials and income.

The company has been operating in Brazil since 2015. There are more than 300 Return Machine equipment spread across the country here in Rio, in São Paulo, in Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Recife, Salvador and Manaus.

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