Olyns FAQ

How do I use the Olyns Cube?

The Olyns Cube was designed to be a convenient and touchless experience for our users.  To deposit your empty containers, earn reward points, get your bottle deposits back through Paypal, and help save the planet, please follow the following steps:

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1. Download the Olyns app from Google Play or the App Store. Android users that do not already have the Google Wallet installed on their mobile device need to download Google Wallet as well as the Olyns app

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2. Create an Olyns account.  Be sure to complete both the email verification and the phone verification step to activate your account.

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3. Add the Olyns card to your Apple or Google wallet.

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4. Check in at the Olyns Cube. Hold your phone up to the NFC logo on the front right side of the Cube. When you're successfully checked in, your name appears on the small screen. You don't need to be in the Olyns app to check in to the Cube. Note that some devices require users to enable the NFC reader before they can use touchless login. Please follow these steps to enable the NFC reader on your device: 

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1. Open the Settings app.

2. Locate and tap on "Connections" or "Connected devices."

3. Tap on "NFC" or "Connection preferences".

4. Toggle on "NFC and contactless payments" or " Use NFC".

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5. Deposit your beverage containers into the Olyns Cube. The small screen displays the number of containers you deposit, and the app displays your container refund balance and earned reward points.

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6. Cash out. Tap the "Cash Out" button in the Olyns app, and your total cash balance is immediately transferred to your Paypal account. Please ensure that the email associated with your Olyns account is the same as the email associated with you Paypal account. If your Olyns email address differs from your PayPal email address, be sure to add your Olyns email to your Paypal account before cashing out.

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·        Go to the PayPal app

·        Go to Profile (Picture)

·        Go to Account Info

·        Go to Emails

·        + Add a new email (from Olyns account)

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Watch our short How to video here:‍

How to Olyns!

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How do I find an Olyns Cube near me?

Tap "Find Olyns" on the app home screen to see a map view and a list view of all Cube locations. Alternatively, check the Users Section of the Olyns website.

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What materials does the Olyns Cube accept?
The Cubes accept eligible beverage containers made of plastic, aluminum, glass, and wine and spirits containers in multi-layer pouch, bag-in-a-box, and paperboard carton. In California Olyns accepts CA CRV compliant materials with Cal Recycle approved labels. On Aluminum cans, look for the CA CRV text on the top of the can.  For plastic and glass bottles, look for the CA CRV text on the label. You can find a complete description of CA CRV eligible containers on the CalRecycle website

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How do I get my bottle deposit refund?

On the home screen of the Olyns app, tap "Cash Out".  Olyns will transfer your balance into your Paypal account under the same email address you used when you signed up for Olyns.  Check the email account you used to sign up for Olyns and you will see confirmation of the money transfer. If you don't have a Paypal account,  Paypal will prompt you with easy steps to set up a Paypal account. It is important to use the same email address for your Paypal account and your Olyns account. Funds are transferred within minutes of account set up.

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What happens to the containers I deposit in the Cube?

Olyns uses AI to sort containers at the point of deposit into three separate bins ( plastic, aluminum, glass). Olyns keeps the materials segregated to avoid contamination so all deposited containers can be recycled into new containers. Containers deposited in an Olyns Cube never end up in landfill, oceans, or incinerators.

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How often do the Cubes get emptied?

Cubes are monitored remotely and emptied every time they are full, typically several times a day. Dynamic collection allows us to respond to user deposit activity in real time, and ensures a greater level of Cube availability than would a pre-determined collection schedule.

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Can I check whether a specific Cube is available?

Tap "Find Olyns" on the Olyns app home screen to see a list view of all Cube locations that shows the percentage fill level of each type of container - plastic, glass, and aluminum.

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Can I deposit crushed  CA-CRV containers (aluminum or plastic) into the Olyns Cube? 

The Olyns Cube does NOT accept crushed containers as they often get jammed inside the Cube.

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Why does the Olyns Cube sometimes show me the message: "Please drop off at customer service desk"?

Because there are certain types of beverage containers that the Olyns Cubes cannot yet accept.  These include beverage cans made out of bimetal ( 2 different kinds of metal), very small probiotic beverage containers, and oversize containers that do not fit into the deposit opening, and wine and spirits in multi-layer pouch, bag-in-a-box, and paperboard carton.

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Why does the Olyns Cube sometimes show me the message: "That's Crushed Aluminum!" or "That's Crushed Plastic!"‍

If you insert a crushed container, The Cube will detect this and let you know that the crused container is not eligible for deposit as they might get jammed inside the Olyns Cube. Please recycle only uncrushed beverage containers with Olyns.

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Why does the Olyns Cube sometimes show me this message: "That has no label!"

Olyns can only recycle beverage containers that display a Cal Recycle approved label:

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CALIFORNIA REDEMPTION VALUE

CA REDEMPTION VALUE

CALIFORNIA CASH REFUND

CA CASH REFUND

CA CRV

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If the Olyns Cube does not detect a Cal Recycle approved label on the deposited beverage container, it cannot be accepted for recycling at Olyns.

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How do I deposit at the Customer Service Desk? 

In order to deposit at the Customer Service Desk, your containers must be separated and counted by material type and size, with each material type in a separate bag. The location services must be enabled on your mobile device so you can select Container Drop Off from the menu in the Olyns app. You will then record your deposits into the app, apply the QR stickers provided by the Customer Service Desk, and deposit your bags. Credit for these deposits can be expected within 3 business days.

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Why does the Olyns Cube sometimes show me this message: "That's not CA CRV!"

The Cubes accept only beverage containers that meet CalRecycle guidelines.  Sometimes our AI algorithms make mistakes and rejects CA CRV containers. You may drop off CA CRV containers that the Cube rejects to the customer service desk. In the Olyns app, tap the menu item "Container drop-off" and follow the instructions.

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How do I delete my Olyns account and all of my associated data?

In the Olyns app, from the menu, go to Account > Delete, then tap "I want to delete my account".  All of your Olyns app data will be deleted. This action cannot be undone.

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What's the best way to let the Olyns team know how much I appreciate the Olyns Cube? 

Please leave us a review on the App Store, Google Play, or Google maps, or follow us and like or share our posts on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. We are a small team with a big vision, and your positive feedback means a lot to us.