This Bottle Return Machine Would Change Everything in Massachusetts

There is an odd New Year’s tradition in my house. Sometime in January, I take all of the bottles and cans I have accumulated over the previous year and cash them in.

It is actually a little disturbing to see just how much soda I consume in a year. So much sugar, but I guess we all have our vices. Giant trash bags jammed with countless cans of Sprite take up an enormous amount of space in my basement. I can barely fit all of the bags into the back of our GMC Yukon. It is incredible to see how much space it frees up once the cans are gone.

Because of the volume, I usually bring them to Can King, a bottle and can redemption center on Tarkiln Hill Road in New Bedford. Most redemption centers get paid a processing fee to accept bottles and cans. Some centers also offer four cents per bottle instead of the typical five-cent deposit.

READ MORE:  How Redemption Centers Like New Bedford's Can King Make Money

I could return them to a grocery store to get the full five-cent deposit back, but the machines are torturous. It takes forever to feed cans in one at a time. With the volume I have, it would take hours to use a bottle return machine like that.

READ MORE: New Bottle Return Machine Will Blow Your Mind

That is why I was shocked to hear a radio friend in Michigan talk about a new bottle redemption machine that was just launched at a chain of grocery stores out there. It looks like the machine quickly eats up bottles and cans, which feels like a total game changer for anyone who returns a lot of empties. You've got to watch the video above.

Get our free mobile app

Massachusetts Needs These Fast Bottle Return Machines

We absolutely need machines like this here in Massachusetts. Heck, maybe we already have them. If you have seen one out in the wild, let me know.