Sambalpur civic body to install reverse vending machines

The Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) is planning to install Reverse Vending Machines (RVM) in the west Odisha city to deal with plastic waste and disuade people from littering.

The RVMs have already been installed in Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur will be the second civic body in the state to install these machines.

In the first phase, the SMC will install the machines at three different locations, including a crowded bus terminus at Ainthapali, Railway station at Khetarajpur and the Science Park in Burla area, an official said.

"People can dump used plastic bottles in the machines which will crush them," said Enforcement Officer of SMC, Subhankar Mohanty.

If everything moves as per the plans, the three machines will be installed by the end of January next year, Mohanty said.

Subsequently, three more machines will be installed at three other suitable locations, he added.

Stating that each machine will have a capacity to shred 200 to 300 bottles per hour, he said a machine can crush 3,000 plastic bottles per day.

The crushed plastic can be reused for various purposes and the machines will enable segregation of plastic at source.

A Request for Proposal (RFP) has already been invited for installation of the three machines.

The selected firm will be entrusted with supply, installation and commissioning of the machines. It will also be entrusted with the operation and maintenance of the RVMs which will run on electricity for three years, he said.

The corporation has also planned to give gift coupons to those who use the machines. The coupons could be exchanged at various outlets, but a final decision in this regard will be taken after the machines become operational, he said.