'Reverse vending machines' that will offer shoppers a reward for inserting recyclable materials are set to be installed at two Lothian supermarkets, the East Lothian Courier reports.
Aldi plan to set up the vending machines outside their North Berwick and Tranent stores in East Lothian - if council bosses approve the planning request.
The planning application reads: “A reverse vending machine (RVM), in its simplest form, is a device that accepts empty beverage containers and returns a reward (either money or some other payment method) to the user.
“The user inserts the empty beverage container into the RVM, where it is scanned, identified and determined to be an eligible container.”
The statement continues: “When consumers go into a shop or hospitality business to buy a drink, they will pay a small deposit (20p) on top of the retail price.
“Consumers get their deposit back when they return their empty plastic bottle, glass bottle or steel/aluminium can.
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