Shufersal, Israel's oldest supermarket chain, announced on Sunday that they will be installing approximately 100 new reverse vending machines at their locations throughout the country in the coming weeks. This comes on the heels of the distinct shortage of deposit stations for recyclables that Israel has been experiencing in recent months. The machines are manufactured by the Asofta corporation.
According to the Environmental Protection Ministry, Israel generates 5.3 million tons of municipal and commercial waste annually yearly, with each citizen producing 612 kilograms of waste per year on average. What is more, Israel's waste production is growing at a rate of 1.8% per every year. Large efforts toward environmental sustainability, particularly recycling, are only becoming more and more critical over with time.
Israel's 1999 Deposit Law was designed to encourage citizens to recycle empty plastic bottles by establishing a minimum 30 agorot return for each bottle. Thus began the prevalence of reverse vending machines — instead of inserting money in exchange for a drink, one deposits an empty drink container in exchange for money.
Unfortunately, in the wake of the 2021 expansion of the law to allow citizens to recycle containers of five or fewer liters, the number of reverse vending machines did not meet the increased demand. According to Globes, Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg chose not to subsidize the purchase of reverse vending machines, making it effectively impossible for businesses to install them en masse.
However, Shufersal and Asofta are taking steps to close the supply-demand gap. According to Asofta CEO Yaron Bardugo, the company is prepared to install about 1,000 reverse vending machines in the coming year and bring the total to approximately 2,000 by the end of 2023. The machines will be installed in supermarkets, convenience stores, gas stations and other public places.
