Every year, over 1.4 trillion beverage containers are sold globally, 500 billion of which are plastic. Unfortunately, plastic material flows are largely linear.
Only about 14% of the 78 million tons of plastic packaging produced every year is collected for recycling. Of that, a mere 2% is recycled into new plastic.
A shocking 40% ends up in landfills or incinerators, and another 32% becomes litter that pollutes the environment.
At least 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year, which is about one garbage truck every minute. Research estimates that by 2050, plastic will likely outweigh all fish in the seas. An estimated 100,000 marine mammals, sea turtles, and one million seabirds die each year due to plastic ingestion and entanglement.
Only about 30% of plastic deposited in curbside or public recycling programs is actually recycled. The rest ends up in landfills or incinerators.
Recyclable items can quickly become garbage when they are co-mingled with different materials (a plastic bottle in a mixed paper bin) or with items that carry the remnants of the food that they once held (yogurt residue in a yogurt container).
Olyns is tackling plastic pollution head-on with our reverse vending machine, the Cube. First, we’re making recycling more accessible by installing our Cubes in convenient locations where people go everyday, like grocery stores.
Second, we use A.I. to sort beverage containers into separate bins, which minimizes contamination and leads to a 99% material recovery rate.
This means that when you deposit a plastic bottle in a Cube, you can be confident it will be recycled into a new plastic bottle.
A bottle bill or deposit return scheme (DRS) is a way to encourage people to return drink containers for recycling. Here’s how it works: when you buy a drink, you pay a small deposit on the container. Then, when you return the empty container for recycling, you get that deposit back. In the US, deposits vary by state and the type and size of container, and range from 2 cents to 25 cents. DRS systems are usually set up by governments, either at the state or national level.
By adding a small financial incentive, deposit return schemes motivate people to recycle and help them see that used containers are not trash, but valuable resources.
Data shows that bottle bills are incredibly effective at boosting recycling rates. In the U.S., plastic bottles with deposits have a return rate of 63%, compared to just 17% for those without. States like Michigan and Oregon see return rates over 85%, and some European countries with Deposit Return Schemes (DRS's) achieve rates over 90%.
Retailers are key players in these systems, responsible for collecting deposits when customers buy eligible drinks. The goal is to make returning containers as easy as purchasing them, so retailers are often required by law to accept returns and refund deposits. These regulations can vary by state and country, but one thing’s clear: retailers play a critical role in making bottle bills work.
Olyns Cubes are reverse vending machines designed to help beverage retailers easily collect recycled containers and refund deposits, making the process seamless for both customers and businesses.
Reverse vending machines (RVMs) are automated machines where people can return empty bottles and cans for recycling. The’ve been around since the 1970’s, and have made it convenient and easy for retailers to collect empty drink containers and return people’s bottle deposits. Here’s how they work: you insert your used drink containers, the machine sorts and stores them, and gives you back your container deposit, often in the form of a physical piece of paper ( a credit) that you use towards store purchases.
Unlike a "vending" machine, where you put money into the machine and get a product in return, with a "reverse vending" machine, you put a product (empty bottles or cans) into the machine, and get money or a credit in return. It's like a vending machine, but in reverse, thus a "reverse vending machine" or RVM.
Reverse vending machines are especially common in regions with deposit return systems (DRS), also calledwhere people pay a monetary deposit every time they buy a beverage in a container, and get this deposit back when they return the empty container for recycling.
The Olyns RVM, called the Olyns Cube, uses artificial intelligence to identify containers without scanning barcodes; it can be trained to recognize a wide variety of consumer packaging, not just beverage containers. The Cube also uses A.I. to sort containers into separate bins, which minimizes contamination and enables Olyns to achieve a 99% material recovery rate. Recyclers can be confident that a container deposited in an Olyns Cube will become a new, recycled container.
In addition, Olyns' mobile app refunds container deposit credits electronically, through Paypal, rather than through a paper credit note that can only be used in store. We gamify recycling with leaderboards, cash and perks. We inspire recycling with real-time impact metrics: think trees planted, carbon saved, and bottles recycled. Our aim is to connect the dots between action and outcome.
Perhaps most importantly, 55" screens transform Olyns' Cubes into a revenue generating digital media network. By designing the Cube with two distinct but equal functions, collecting containers, and displaying advertising, Olyns is disrupting the revenue model of the RVM industry. This new approach makes it economically feasible for organizations to host Olyns Cubes, and therefore for Olyns to expand its network. When more organizations host reverse vending machines, recycling becomes more accessible, plastic pollution decreases, and the shift to a circular economy accelerates.
A closed-loop economy is all about keeping materials in circulation at their highest value for as long as possible. In a closed-loop plastics economy, recycled materials take priority over new inputs, cutting down on fossil fuel extraction and minimizing the environmental impact of plastic production and disposal. Right now, though, the plastics economy is largely linear. Only about 14% of the 78 million tons of plastic packaging produced each year gets recycled, and just 2% is recycled in a true closed loop. A staggering 40% ends up in landfills or incinerators, and 32% becomes litter, polluting our environment.
Olyns is on a mission to flip the script by increasing the number of plastic bottles in the closed loop. When a plastic bottle is deposited in an Olyns Cube, it’s kept separate from other waste, ensuring it stays clean and uncontaminated—so it doesn’t end up in a landfill or incinerator. Thanks to A.I., Olyns Cubes can identify and sort containers, achieving a 99% material recovery rate of high-quality, food-grade plastic. This allows bottles to be recycled back into new bottles in a true closed loop.We’re accelerating the transition to a circular economy by expanding our network of Olyns Cubes.
We’ve partnered with leading retailers to install over 400 reverse vending machines across California in 2025. This will provide millions of Californians with easy access to closed-loop recycling, reduce plastic pollution, boost the supply of high-quality recycled plastic, and decrease the need for carbon-heavy virgin plastic production
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