Change often starts in surprising ways, and Coca-Cola is testing something that could shift everyday routines. The company is rolling out an initiative that combines sustainability, technology, and campus life in a refreshingly practical way. It’s a move toward a more circular system—rewarding small actions while rethinking convenience. For many, this could quickly feel less like an experiment and more like part of normal life.
How the pilot works on Scottish campuses
At three New College Lanarkshire campuses near Glasgow, a trial program is turning cans and bottles into meal credits. Students drop an eligible container into a reverse vending machine, get a 20-pence voucher (around $0.27), and use it at the campus canteen. The system rewards you right when you finish your drink.
The partnership involves Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) and the nonprofit Keep Scotland Beautiful, with on-the-ground support from the college. Over four weeks, teams listen to students and map practical and behavioral barriers. The machines, often called RVMs, also simulate a Deposit Return Scheme so people learn how returns work in everyday life.
Jo Padwick of CCEP says the trial offers “honest, human insight” into motivations as well as friction points, from queueing to container prep. Because credits arrive instantly, the pilot tests whether small, visible value can transform disposal from an afterthought into a routine, rewarding step.
Coca-Cola’s deposit-return push and student incentives
Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) add a small charge at purchase and refund it when containers come back. Students already understand loyalty points and campus wallets, so the pilot connects with familiar behavior. A quick scan, a credit, and a snack: the loop closes before the next class begins.
Evidence backs incentives. A 2023 report by Ball Packaging and Eunomia notes that nine of the top ten U.S. states for recycling offer refunds, while none of the bottom ten do. The pattern suggests that money, even when modest, shifts return rates meaningfully. A small nudge, scaled broadly, rewires habits.
Campus trials also surface pain points you can’t find in surveys. Placement matters. So do clear screens, simple steps, and neat return bays. Because credits land in canteens, students feel value immediately rather than later. That immediacy helps the model compete with bins that still sit closer than many machines.
What reverse vending machines change for everyday behavior
Small rewards turn timing into strategy. After lectures, streams of students converge on food halls, which makes returns convenient right where spending happens. Peer behavior also matters; when friends queue together, the “why not” effect spreads fast, especially when the machine recognizes containers quickly.
The trial keeps language simple—“scan, return, credit”—because clarity beats technical detail. Reliability counts, too. Fast acceptance, jam-free slots, and a clean bay make the loop feel modern. When a return takes seconds, people repeat it. When it drags, they drop empties in bins, and the loop breaks.
Behavioral design lives in little choices: machine location, signage with friendly tone, and prompts that thank users by default. Include leaderboards or gentle milestones and routine grows. Because Coca-Cola sits at the center of many campus drink moments, the brand can normalize a return culture as part of everyday life.
Numbers that show the impact, from 447 billion to $5.5 billion
Scale tells the larger story. Resource Recycling Magazine estimates a national best-in-class DRS in the U.S. could capture 447 billion beverage containers otherwise lost. Recycling those units would yield nearly 31 million tonnes (33.77 million tons) of reusable material worth about $5.5 billion—serious value, not loose change.
Emissions fall, too. The same analysis cites 34.1 million tons less heat-trapping pollution compared with making new containers, an impact equal to saving about 3.5 billion gallons of gasoline. Those numbers give campuses a way to tie small actions to massive upstream gains that budgets and climate plans can measure.
A 2023 review from Ball Packaging and Eunomia strengthens the link between refunds and higher return rates. Money changes behavior, and clear systems reduce friction. When trials like this refine messaging, layout, and redemption rules, the blueprint travels quickly from one campus to city streets and large retail networks.
Coca-Cola’s role, scrutiny, and why this test matters
CCEP’s collaboration with Keep Scotland Beautiful brings brand resources and third-sector trust into one effort. The company faces scrutiny as the world’s No. 1 producer of branded plastic waste; that reality makes credible returns vital. A pilot that works on busy campuses shows how design, data, and incentives align.
Because credits flow to canteens, vendors also gain a reason to support returns—more traffic and smoother lines. That alignment helps programs endure after the pilot. Students learn the simple steps, staff fine-tune queues, and managers watch contamination fall as cleaner streams of aluminum and PET reach recyclers.
Trials reveal what signage, software, and placement convert best. Insights on peak times, container types, and error rates feed the next rollout. When a system feels fast, fair, and reliable, people use it. With that, campuses graduate cohorts who expect returns everywhere, which extends the loop beyond college walls.
Why this campus experiment points to a larger recycling shift
A four-week window won’t answer everything, yet it compresses learning. Teams hear what students love and what they skip, then adjust machine prompts, bin maps, and credit rules accordingly. Because the steps mirror a full DRS, skills transfer to stores and stations where the same loop will soon exist.
The signal is simple: when value meets convenience, returns rise. Clear rules beat fine print, and instant credits beat mail-in vouchers. According to The Manufacturer’s reporting on the trial’s set-up, the goal is not only cleaner campuses; it is fluency with a system that policy will make routine.
Students start as early adopters and graduate as expectation-setters. Vendors, meanwhile, see cleaner back-of-house streams and steadier footfall. If scaled, the model boosts recycled content supply that packaging plans rely on. With that feedback loop in place, Coca-Cola and partners can map cost, carbon, and material wins at once.
A smarter path from habit to norm, powered by everyday choices
Small credits won’t save the planet alone; they will, however, make the return step normal, quick, and social. Because the pilot meets people where they already are, it builds muscle memory that outlasts campus life. Done well, the system rewards action and shows how Coca-Cola can support a circular routine.