San Diego receives funding for reverse vending machines [Video]

SAN DIEGO — San Diego County is receiving about $4 million in ‘Beverage Container Redemption Innovation Grants,’ by CalRecycle to help start 20 recycling sites in either mobile recycling or reverse vending machines at select Smart and Final stores. 

“So reverse vending machines look a lot like regular vending machines except the difference is that you’ll put your bottles or cans into the vending machine and then you’ll get nickels or dimes back,” CalRecycle Director Zoe Heller said. 

Heller told CBS 8 that one of the proposals is from Smart and Final, the grocery store retailer plans to add reverse vending machines to eleven stores in the San Diego area.

“It’s an added level of convenience that you can kind of do your shopping for the week and also bring your empties but you can get those nickels and dimes …