Beijing has found an innovative way to encourage their citizens to recycle, while other countries around the world struggle with the same task.
The city is giving free train rides to people who recycle plastic. Machines take in used bottles, crush them and issue the suitable credit onto your public transport pass. It has been described as “recycling for a reward” by the manufacturer.
Liu Xuesong, deputy manager of the manufacturing company said: “We plan to install 3 000 such machines across the city. They’ll expand to other subway lines, schools, residential areas, bus stops and shopping malls.”
Cedrec's take
It's great to hear that recycling is being promoted in such a unique way, and this kind of promotion brings the environment to the front of people's minds on a daily basis. After reading around the subject it seems the bottles take up to 10 seconds to crush, while the buyer waits for their credit to be added. This may be an issue in a fast paced society, but only time will tell how effective these machines are!
