Citywide, San Francisco has only 15 locations where consumers can recycle their beverage containers, down from 35 locations just three years ago. For a city with a population of over 800,000, there is large unmet demand for facilities, said Frank Canelo, TOMRA Pacific’s operations manager for the Bay Area. The new TOMRA Recycling Center offers convenient drive-through service, as well as self-service ‘reverse vending’ machines, in a clean, friendly environment capable of handing large amounts of container returns quickly and accurately.
Located at 195 Bay Shore Blvd, next to BevMo!, the TOMRA Recycling Center will provide consumers with the opportunity to redeem empty beverage containers between the hours of 9 am to 5 pm, seven days a week.
Consumers will have two ways of returning containers to the center:
— Drive-through weighing service – offers a convenient way of processing large and small amounts of CRV containers for redemption.
— Self-service reverse vending machines (RVMs) – allows consumers to use an automated machine to count as many CRV containers as they would like to insert.
The best thing about this center is that it offers consumers a choice. Unlike other centers, we will be providing reverse vending machines, which are quick to use, and offer consumers the opportunity to get paid on a per-count basis, which many people prefer, said Matt Millhiser, TOMRA Pacific’s director of Convenience Zone Operations.
San Francisco has lost many recycling centers as a result of several grocery stores moving out of the city, resulting in the closure of drop-off centers located on their properties. Zoning restrictions have made it difficult for modern, new centers to set up. TOMRA offers a better, cleaner alternative to industrial junkyard-style recycling centers, which can be intimidating and overwhelming for many people, said Millhiser. The new Bay Shore Blvd center represents an important step in helping San Franciscans increase their recycling rates.
