Hopes for reverse vending machines in Cambridge
It's been described as 'sexy recycling'
A new way to recycle that offers people rewards for returning their bottles and cans could be coming to Cambridge.
Plans are being worked on to bring reverse vending machines to the city in the hope they will help tackle climate change.
Janne Jarvis, who helped introduce reverse vending machines in Suffolk, described the machines as “sexy recycling” and said people enjoy using them.
Mr Jarvis said deposit return schemes are common in many other European countries, where people pay a small deposit when buying a product in a plastic bottle, which they get back when they return the empty bottle at a collection point.
Mr Jarvis said he was in Cambridge with friends a few years ago when the idea came to him to try and bring the scheme to the city.
He said: “I was just with friends looking around thinking what can we do for our home town environmentally.
“I said there are reverse vending machines in northern Europe, why do we not have them in a city like Cambridge?
“The city has a rich history of progressive thinking, why do we not have these machines everywhere in Cambridge?
“I tried as a private citizen to make waves, but as a private citizen it is difficult as people do not take you seriously and reverse vending machines are still a bit of a mystery in the UK.
“I couldn’t get anywhere, so I thought about trying in Newmarket as it is smaller and I might get a better chance.”
Mr Jarvis said he ended up deciding to run to be a councillor at West Suffolk Council when he saw elections were due to take place in the hope he could set up a scheme.
He said: “One day I saw there were elections happening and I thought I am going to run and give it a go.
“My friends and family said ‘are you sure about this?’ I said ‘not really, but I am going to do it.’ And I ran and luckily I won.
“I took a year to investigate and educate myself, so I could take the idea to the council with an oven ready plan, for want of a better expression.”
Mr Jarvis explained they worked with the company Trovr on the project and came up with the idea of giving people vouchers for money off at major retailers and local businesses when they deposited their recycling.
He said giving this reward gave the bottles and cans value, which he said made people more likely to recycle them.
West Suffolk Council launched the reverse vending machines in 2024 and said the “pioneering initiative” had helped boost recycling rates, while also supporting local businesses.
Mr Jarvis said: “It has been incredibly successful, people are using them out of convenience, they did not know about the reward, they just like the machines, they are sexy, it is sexy recycling and something people enjoy doing.”
He added that the machines are a “simple idea” that have been used for years in other countries.
He explained that the UK is “way behind the curve” when it came to climate change mitigation and said it is important to “get the basics right to mitigate climate change in the future in a meaningful way”.
After the success in Suffolk, Mr Jarvis said he began contacting councillors at Cambridge City Council about introducing the scheme in the city.
He said Councillor Jean Glasberg had been “instrumental” in helping get the scheme to Cambridge.
He said: “This is a great example of local authorities working together, which is critical in the fight against climate change.”
Cllr Glasberg said: “I have been very pleased to be able to work with Cllr Jarvis on this, and am hopeful that we will have a scheme up and running in Cambridge very soon.
“Officers have been working to get a couple of reverse vending machines installed at Cambridge Leisure on a trial basis, and are now in the final stages of checking all the arrangements so we should be able to launch the scheme very soon.
“Reverse vending machines in stores and other public spaces are commonplace in many other countries and make it very easy for people to recycle items such as plastic bottles which otherwise go to landfill.
“This is a simple step we can take to tackle climate change.
“The scheme has been very popular in West Suffolk and I’m sure that Cambridge residents will also welcome it, and that we will be able to expand use of the machines to other locations in the city as well.”
Mr Jarvis said the lengths he had to go to in order to make the scheme happen reminded him of how important it was for people to take action.
He said many people “feel helpless” when it comes to helping the environment, but he said he hoped he could be “living proof in a modest way that you can get out there and bang a few heads and make things happen”.