At a lease signed for a location in Fair Oaks, a Sacramento-based company wants to redefine the feel of recycling centers.
California RVM Solutions is debuting its first reverse vending machine in a nearly 5,000-square-foot building that used to be a Chase Bank branch at 4802 San Juan Ave.
"We're really trying to bring recycling centers out of the Stone Age," said Jacie Leavitt, operations manager for California RVM Solutions.
Leavitt said the site will have a public-facing side that operates somewhat like a Coinstar machine: Drop in your recyclables and get a redeemable voucher for their value, used online. The rest of the building, about 75%, is taken up by people processing the items, she said.
The company is working with Norway-based Tomra, which manufactures the machines, to establish more of them locally. But Leavitt said while the hope is enough company sites will help phase out existing grungy, labor-intensive recycling centers, the cost benefit for recycled materials will need to change first.
One of the commercial real estate brokers who signed California RVM to the Fair Oaks lease said a change in state law may make that happen more easily.
Senate Bill 1013, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2025, will eliminate a "buy-out" option major retailers used in California to have bottles and cans bought in their stores brought elsewhere for redemption, said Dan Mueller, executive director at Century 21 Select Real Estate Inc.
As a result, those retailers will have to find new ways to accept those materials. Reverse vending machines in empty retail buildings is a way to do that, he said.
"The tech revolution of recycling is an answer to the bill," he said.
So far, though, Leavitt said, that's something to work toward rather than count on now. "The financial model will have to change to be sustainable," she said.
Still, she said the reverse vending machine model is already standard in places like Canada, and encouraged by state agencies like CalRecycle. It's offering grants to recycling operators to provide options in underserved areas, as part of the law taking effect.
Along with Mueller, John Cardoza of Century 21 Select Real Estate helped broker the least for California RVM.
