Sainsbury’s will pay you 5p for every plastic bottle or drinks can you recycle – but it’s not at all stores

SAINSBURY'S will pay you 5p for every plastic bottle or drinks can that you recycle in store.

The supermarket has launched its first reverse vending machine as part of a scheme that it plans to roll out to more stores this year.

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Customers put bottles of any size up to three litres and aluminium cans into the machine and it will print out a voucher that can be spent in store.

Each item you recycle is worth 5p and you can return up to 500 items in any one go.

If you recycle the maximum 500 bottles per transaction, then you will received a voucher worth £25.

The idea behind the deposit return scheme is to reduce the impact of plastic bottles on the environment.

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It's not the first store to trial a deposit return scheme. Iceland launched a trial in May last year and pays customers with vouchers worth 10p for every item recycled.

Meanwhile Morrisons, which also began trialling the scheme in 2018, gives shoppers 100 "More" loyalty points worth £1 for every 20 bottles recycled - but you need to earn 5,000 points before you get a Morrisons voucher.

Sainsbury's machines only accept bottles and cans from brands that are sold in store, such as Sainsbury's own-brands, Coca-Cola or Ribena, even if you bought it at a rival supermarket.

But it won't recycle items that it doesn't sell, such as Tesco's own-brand squash or Morrison's own-brand cola.

An eagle-eyed shopper spotted the reverse vending machine in the superstore in Tritton Road in Lincoln and posted it on the Facebook group Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK.

So far it's the only branch that's got one but a spokesperson told The Sun that it's planning to roll out machines to four more stores over the next few weeks.

It then hopes to expand the trial to even more supermarkets and convenience stores over the rest of the year - but it wouldn't tell us which stores are next.

Judith Batchelar, director of Sainsbury’s brand said: "We’re delighted to offer a new way to help our customers recycle while saving on their shop."

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It's the latest in a string of moves taken by the supermarket to get rid of non-reusable plastics in stores.

Earlier this week, Sainsbury's became the first supermarket to axe plastic bags completely in all stores, including those used for fresh fruit and vegetables.

By September, shoppers will be able to bring their own bags or buy a re-usable bag made from recycled materials, removing 489 tonnes of plastic from being used.

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