Bee’ah, a leading integrated environmental and waste management company, is bringing reverse vending machines for the collection and recycling of domestic light bulbs and batteries to the UAE, in a pioneering effort.

Bee’ah will install the machines, supplied by UK-based Reverse Vending Corporation reVend, across the UAE.

The integrated environmental and waste management organization is only the second company ever to spearhead this powerful initiative, making the UAE the second country in the world, after the UK, to adapt and apply this cutting-edge technology, said a statement.

“We are honoured to be joining forces with reVend – an industry leader in reverse vending design and innovation – to help diminish the hazardous effects of waste on both human health and the environment,” said Khaled Al Huraimel, group chief executive officer, Bee’ah. “The introduction of these ground-breaking reverse vending machines is set to help Bee’ah further advance its goal of achieving zero-waste to landfill in Sharjah."

Carol Hall, managing director of Reverse Vending Corporation reVend, added: “We are pleased to have formed a strategic partnership with Bee’ah to bring new, state-of-the-art reVend ‘Reverse Vending’ Recycling Technologies to the Middle East. reVend has over 28 years of reverse vending experience: we invented the very first reverse vending recycling machines for domestic light bulbs. Now, we are proud to say that these machines will be exclusive to Bee’ah across the Middle East– a top, award-winning integrated environment and waste management company.”

In recent years, with the amount of untreated waste growing at an alarming rate, recycling solutions for the lighting industry have garnered strong international interest. After all, used light bulbs often end up in landfills, which poses a significant danger to the environment and proves costly.

The light bulb recycling machines from reVend will help increase the UAE’s recycling rates, keep hazardous waste out of the nation’s landfills and help companies meet their environmental performance targets, the statement said.

Light bulbs that are not energy efficient will be banned across the United Arab Emirates by the end of this year as the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (Esma) has expanded its range of efficiency standards to cover more electrical equipment and appliances. The new standards will require all light bulbs sold and used in the country to be eco-friendly as per the rating system. This would lead to an increased demand for CFL and LED light bulbs, in addition to an increased demand for recycling light bulbs and domestic batteries.

The reVend® Reverse Vending Machines accept all domestic light Bulbs, including incandescent ones, CFLs, LEDs as well as any domestic batteries which contain valuable and scarce natural mineral resources or harmful materials such as lead and mercury.

Each light bulb is recognized by the machine’s Video Recognition Technology; from there, an easy-to-follow touch screen menu helps to guide the recycler through his/her eco-journey. Once the user completes the recycling process, he/she will receive a reward incentive voucher. Through the machine, recyclers will have the option of donating their loyalty points to charity organizations; they can also be rewarded for their positive environmental efforts with redeemable points – as part of the myBee’ah Loyalty programme, it said.

ReVend has exclusively appointed Bee’ah as their distributor and reseller of the light bulbs and batteries RVMs and the plastic bottles and cans RVMs in the Middle East and the two firms are working together to expand the presence in the market.

In 2012, Bee’ah was the first company in the UAE to introduce reverse vending machines that accept all types of plastic bottles and aluminium cans. Located throughout the UAE, the machines are interactive, boast touch screen capabilities and showcase affiliates of the myBee’ah Loyalty Programme.  - TradeArabia News Service