Today, the first two of 10 jumbo-sized reverse vending machines for plastic beverage containers have gone live at Pembroke and Hal Far, as BCRS Malta invests a further €2.5 million to brace for a peak in operations over the summer months.

Over the coming months, BCRS Malta said it will be installing further 28 new machines, including the 10 jumbo machines, which will see the total number of machines spread across Malta and Gozo reach 348.

Since the jumbo machines will only handle plastic (PET), single-feed reverse vending machines operating 24/7 will also be set up alongside the jumbo machines to cater for glass bottles and cans.

Located at Luxol’s Park-and-Ride and at the BCRS Clearing Centre, these high-capacity machines can store up to 9,000 containers, while allowing consumers the convenience of depositing their plastic bottles all at once instead of one by one.

The remaining jumbo machines will start to be rolled out across Malta and Gozo from the end of this month and BCRS is currently processing the necessary permits.

The company reminded the public that the only beverage containers accepted by the RVMs are: water (still, sparkling and flavoured), soft drinks, energy drinks, beers, ciders, dilutables, flavoured drinks with less than five per cent alcohol, and ready-to-drink coffee.

The machines do not accept the following containers: juices, dairy products, wines, alcoholic spirits, cartons and pouches which should be returned for collection through the existing grey / green bag and/or glass collection schemes.

The company said that to date, in just five months, more than 60 million beverage containers have been returned with 2,581 tons of plastic, glass and metal exported for recycling.

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