It may be necessary to replace pawn machines – E24

The EU’s deposit requirement may lead to more glass bottles. Today’s pawn machines cannot handle that.

On Wednesday this week, the EU Parliament reached a decision on a new packaging regulation. The aim is to reduce the amount of waste in the Union. Among other things, demands are proposed for the reuse of beverage packaging.

In Norway today, there is no recycling. When PET PETPET is one of the most common plastic materials and is most frequently used for bottles for soft drinks and mineral water. Can be washed at home, but softens at 70 degrees and therefore cannot withstand the wash required for reuse. PET bottles are recycled instead. -bottles and aluminum cans, the material is used to produce new ones.

If you want to reuse, you must use other types of packaging, such as glass bottles and thicker plastic bottles.

The brewing and trading industry are strong critics. The Norwegian mortgage system is better for the environment, they believe. In addition, it will require large investments to meet the requirements.

The Norwegian world-leading mortgage company Tomra confirms that the requirements may mean that current machines must be replaced or upgraded.

– Up to the producers

It depends on a couple of things, emphasizes managing director Tove Andersen.

Firstly, whether Norway can get exceptions from the rules. An option has been included for this if certain requirements for recycling are met.

NHO Mat og Drikke has previously stated to E24 that the requirements seem to be so extensive that they doubt that any country will meet them.

Then the question is what kind of packaging is used.

– Norwegian deposit machines are set up for plastic and aluminium. If you want to deposit glass, you need other machines. Hard plastic can perhaps be handled by today’s vending machines. Whether glass or hard plastic is used is up to the manufacturers to decide, says Andersen.

The most important change will take place in the back room, she says.

– The challenge with reuse is the volume needed to handle the bottles.

Andersen emphasizes that most of the deposit machines can be upgraded to meet the new requirements, while a few will potentially have to be replaced. Many of the machines have accepted both glass and reusable bottles in the past.

Income opportunity

Tomra is behind more than 80,000 pawn machines worldwide. When the EU reached political agreement on the packaging regulation in March, the company gained momentum on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

– If Norwegian shops have to replace their deposit machines, surely that is an income opportunity for you?

– Yes, it is. We have a portfolio of machines that can handle both single-use and reusable packaging. But in the end, we are concerned that you have the most environmentally friendly solutions.

In countries that do not have as good a mortgage system as Norway, there is little doubt that the EU requirements will be able to produce positive environmental effects.

– Overall, we are very positive about this legislation. It has many good objectives to increase circularity for a wide range of packaging and materials. We believe this is a clear step in the right direction.

Positive minister

Climate and Environment Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen (Ap) makes no secret of the fact that it will require and cost something for the brewing and trading industry to do things in a different way.

At the same time, the minister is positive about “further developing” the system we have now.

– What we have works very well and the main elements must remain. So my main point with further development is that the Norwegian mortgage system is essentially based on one-time use. Something that could last five hundred years, we use once and then we use energy to produce the same thing all over again. I think we have to do something about the waste problem, also here at home in Norway, he told E24 last week.

Andreas Bjelland Eriksen

Climate and Environment Minister for the Labor Party.