Returnable Container Management and TOMRA Collection debuted their new redemption and recycling center in Stratford last week.
The new facility, being touted as the largest of its kind in the state, will make returning bottles and cans faster and more efficient, the companies said.
Redeemers at the facility will no longer have to separate their plastic, cans, and glass, and it can all go into one of the five machines at once, making redemption time faster, facility officials said.
“This is the kind of energy and innovation we expect to see more of as Connecticut transitions from a five-cent deposit to ten cents. We want redeeming containers to be as convenient as buying a drink in the first place,” said TOMRA President and CEO Tove Andersen.
On Jan. 1, 2024, the deposit value is set to increase from 5 to 10 cents.
The facility will have a processing capacity of 50 million containers a year. Equipped with five machines from TOMRA’s new E5 line, the automated bulk redemption technology verifies containers, provides compaction to save space and greenhouse gas emissions during transport, and pays back consumers immediately.
The facility also supports local retailers by providing a location for high-volume redeemers to return containers.
The new redemption center is located off I-95 at 1855 Stratford Ave., open Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and accepts an unlimited amount of CT Deposit bottles and cans.
Returnable Container Management LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of New York-based Galvanize Group, an operator of beverage container redemption facilities throughout New York and Connecticut. TOMRA Collection provides reverse vending machines for Clean Loop Recycling.
