A BOTTLE and can recycling machine should be installed at Albury’s tip, former mayor Henk van de Ven believes.
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The chairman of the council’s committee responsible for waste control wants Albury’s third Return and Earn machine at the dump.
“It would appear to be a good spot to have one, it’s a waste management centre already and all the stuff going into the machines is recycling,” Cr van de Ven said.
Prior to Norris Park and Springdale Heights IGA supermarkets being chosen for Albury’s existing two machines, the council approached contractor TOMRA-Cleanaway about installing a unit at the tip.
But the consortium did not reply, however Cleanaway has since told the council Albury’s population warranted a third machine.
On that basis, Cr van de Ven said it made sense to have a unit at the tip “to ease the burden”.
He views it as a chance for charity Aware Industries, which conducts the recycling shop at the tip, to gain some income.
Norris Park IGA owner Gary Evans said his shop’s machine continued to have big throughput with 24,000 containers on Monday.
He said TOMRA had promised to install insulation to halt the echoing noise created by glass bottle deposits.
“If they can address the drop, drop, drop of the bottles and TOMRA put two machines at the tip I think that will waylay a lot of the issues,” Mr Evans said.
Springdale Heights IGA owner Bob Mathews said he doubted TOMRA-Cleanway would put a machine at the tip.
“The issue would be people cashing their money out and how that would be handled,” he said.
Mr Evans said the float at his supermarket had been dramatically increased since it began paying out for the 10-cent container refunds.
“We have had to double the amount of money in our tills,” he said.
The value of the machine to the IGA, in terms of sales generated via container refunds, was being scrutinised, Mr Evans said.
“We’re just doing an analysis now of how much people spend in store and we’re running at 10 per cent,” he said.
“Out of $2000 in payouts people are only spending $200 in store, that’s out of the new customers.”
Mr Mathews said around 20 per cent of can drop-offs were resulting in purchases in store, compared to 16 per cent when the machine began operating.