Latest news with #RVMs
The Hindu
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Enabling voting rights for migrants
Bihar, a State with one of the largest out-migration populations in India, is going to the polls later this year. This time, again a significant proportion of the State's population will be unable to exercise their franchise. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, voter turnout in Bihar was 56%, significantly lower than the national average of 66%. Since more than half the households in Bihar are exposed to migration in some form, a likely factor to have significantly influenced low voter turnout was the large migrant population, which was unable to return home to vote. Patterns of migration In 2021, the overall migration rate in India was 28.9%. A significant portion of migration in India is for marriage, especially among women. Around 10%, however, migrate for work. This number is significantly higher in certain northern and eastern States such as Bihar. With an ever-increasing number of migrants travelling from poorer to richer areas in search of employment, the number of those effectively disenfranchised will only increase, unless mechanisms are put in place to facilitate voting by migrants. In an attempt to solve the issue, public discussions have been held. The Election Commission of India (ECI) put forth a concrete proposal in 2024. But no single mechanism for voting for migrants has been implemented. Different kinds of policies and mechanisms are needed to enable voting for different kinds of migrants (intra and inter-State migrants). Intra-State migrants (around 85% of migrants) working in the informal sector could be encouraged to travel relatively shorter distances to vote in their original place of residence. However, they would need a measure of support from the government. Stricter enforcement of the statutory holiday on polling day would ensure that these workers are able to travel to vote without loss of wages. Special bus services could also be scheduled on the eve of and on polling day. Different mechanisms Inter-State migrants working in the informal sector are a large, growing and vulnerable population and need a different set of voting mechanisms. Three possibilities can be explored for this section. The first is an option designed to cater to the large population of migrants in irregular and low-paying jobs, such as in the construction sector. Workers in these jobs may not have permanent residences with address proofs. In 2023, the ECI showcased a pilot project of remote electronic voting machines (RVMs). Each of these was an EVM modified to cater to up to 72 constituencies. Political parties objected to this project. They said there was ambiguity over its functioning. They also cited issues such as problems in identification of migrants and the Code of Conduct being in place in the constituency where the migrant was residing. The project also appeared to be administratively difficult to implement at scale: when a large State with a large out-migration population goes to the polls, migrants from the State who currently reside across the country would be required to notify the ECI months in advance so that the ECI can make the necessary arrangements on polling day. If the ECI finds that in a given city, there are migrants from all 243 constituencies of Bihar, it would need to set up at least four RVMs across the city. The administrative difficulties would only be compounded during the Lok Sabha elections. As complex and challenging as the RVM proposal seems, it was the first major attempt by the ECI to facilitate voting for migrants. With more consultation and fine-tuning, this system could benefit many. Another option is postal ballots. This system is already being implemented by the ECI for members of the armed forces. An extension of this model could help many migrants. Here, too, the ECI would require migrants to register with the body well in advance, so the postal ballots can be issued. Operationally, this appears to be the easier form of remote voting to implement. However, the ECI would have to organise registration, issue ballot papers, and despatch these ballots to counting centres after voting — all major administrative efforts. The last option — switching voting constituencies — is suitable for the longer term for more permanent migrants who can prove their residence in a constituency for at least six months. The argument here is that longer-term migrants of an area would likely be more concerned about the politics and policies of their current place of residence. The ECI should also take extra effort to enrol longer-term migrants of the informal sector in their current place of residence. This will empower them to pressure governments to implement more migrant-friendly policies. While this move may face significant opposition from longer-term residents of the area, it would empower one of the most vulnerable sections of the population. Separately, as a significant number of migrant populations across the country are women who migrate after marriage, voting drives could also be carried out to enrol these women on the voter lists of their new place of residence. A mixed approach Each of these options has its advantages and disadvantages. Enabling voting by migrants is a complex task and is made more complex by the heterogeneity of migrants. Therefore, an approach that uses all these options will enable a significant share of both inter- and intra-State salaried and casual migrants to exercise their right to vote.
Mid East Info
19-06-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
Majid Al Futtaim Collaborates with Coca-Cola Middle East and Sparklo Furthering its Commitment to Promoting Circular Communities
The partnership will see Coca-Cola Middle East sponsor a few Reverse Vending Machines RVMs in key Carrefour locations, serving as an extension to Carrefour's existing recycling efforts. The aim is to collect 1.8 million bottles a year, which can reduce CO ₂ emissions. Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 2025 : Majid Al Futtaim, which owns the exclusive rights to operate Carrefour in the UAE, announces its partnership with Coca-Cola Middle East and Sparklo, a UAE-based cleantech company, to boost Carrefour recycling efforts under the Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) initiative. This collaboration, driven by a shared commitment to building a community of eco-conscious customers and a focus on innovation, will see Coca-Cola co-operate RVMs in key Carrefour locations across the UAE, building on the programme's proven success in promoting collection and recycling and contributing to the UAE's ambitious sustainability agenda. Carrefour's RVM initiative, powered by Sparklo's innovative technology, was launched in July 2023, and since then it has empowered customers to actively support circularity by incentivising recycling. Using the Sparklo app, users earn points for each item recycled and they can redeem the points for rewards from participating partners. Rewards include savings at Carrefour, discounted taxi rides, among others. Based on the 2024 Sparklomats RVMs results, the partnership is projected to collect over 1.8 million plastic bottles and aluminium cans annually, with an average of over 1,000 containers per day, helping to contribute to CO₂ emissions reduction. Commenting on the partnership, Jean-Luc Graziato, Chief Operating Officer at Majid Al Futtaim – Retail , said: 'We are committed to playing an active role in advancing sustainability across the UAE, in support of the nation's vision for environmental leadership and its ambitious goals around waste reduction and responsible consumption. Our partnership with Coca-Cola and Sparklo is a powerful example of how collaboration can drive scalable impact. By leveraging advanced technologies, we are transforming our retail spaces to serve greater purpose; empowering customers to actively participate in building a circular economy.' 'At Coca-Cola, we aim to grow our business in ways that drive positive change and build a more sustainable future for our planet. Through our partnership with Majid Al Futtaim and Sparklo, we are making it easier for people in the UAE to recycle and contribute to circularity and sustainability. This initiative is part of our broader efforts to improve waste collection and strengthen local recycling infrastructure, helping to build a circular economy where packaging is collected, recycled, and reused,' said Andrew Buckingham, Vice President and General Manager at The Coca-Cola Company Middle East. 'We're glad to see our joint initiative with Majid Al Futtaim now supported by Coca-Cola. It shows a shared commitment to making it simple and engaging for people to recycle bottles and cans. Together, we're building the infrastructure to collect every bottle in the UAE and show what real progress on sustainability can look like,' added Maxim Kaplevich, Founder and CEO of Sparklo. The collaboration also supports the ambitions of the UAE Circular Economy Policy 2031, which aims to divert 75% of waste from landfills by 2030 by promoting recycling, reusing material, and reducing reliance on raw resources. Through the initiative, Carrefour, Coca-Cola, and Sparklo are accelerating the UAE's transition towards a waste-free, circular economy. The co-operated machines are located across Carrefour stores at Ibn Battuta Mall, City Centre Mirdiff, City Centre Deira, and Burjuman Mall in Dubai, and Dalma Mall in Abu Dhabi. About Majid Al Futtaim Retail: Founded in 1992, Majid Al Futtaim is an Emirati-owned, diversified lifestyle conglomerate operating shopping malls, communities, retail and leisure outlets, across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The Group employs 43,000 people, with owned assets valued at US$19 billion, and has the highest credit rating ( BBB) among privately held corporates in the region. Majid Al Futtaim Retail holds the exclusive rights to operate Carrefour across 12 markets in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, with a network of over 390 stores. It is also the owner and operator of HyperMax, a new grocery retail brand with 44 locations in Jordan and Oman. Additionally, the Group operates Supeco, its latest grocery retail concept—a low-cost hybrid model that combines a traditional supermarket with a wholesale warehouse—across 15 locations in Egypt, and Myli, the Group's health and beauty brand, operating in 12 stores across Asia and North Africa. To meet the growing needs of its diverse customer base and communities, Majid Al Futtaim Retail offers omnichannel customer experiences tailored to the needs of the modern consumer. Through its innovative physical and digital customer services, Majid Al Futtaim Retail provides access to an unrivalled choice of quality products, at unbeatable value for over 700,000 customers it serves daily. Aligning with the Group's commitment to support local economies, local producers and suppliers, Majid Al Futtaim Retail resources over 80 percent of its products from the region. About Coca-Cola Middle East: The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a total beverage company, with products sold in more than 200 countries and territories. The Coca-Cola Company Middle East operation spans across 12 markets including GCC countries, Iraq, Yemen and the Levant. With 23 bottling plants across the region, our portfolio includes nearly 20 sparkling soft drink brands including Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Thums Up, QJ, Canada Dry and Schweppes; our hydration and juice brands include Arwa, Crystal, Al Waha, Dasani minera, Safia, Minute Maid, Cappy, Fuze Tea and glaceau smartwater. Our company's purpose is to refresh the world and make a difference and we're constantly transforming our portfolio to bring innovative new products with something for everyone. We also seek to positively impact people's lives, communities and the planet through our sustainability initiatives – from water replenishment to waste management, recycling to women empowerment initiatives while we continue to create a rewarding ecosystem for our employees, partners, consumers and customers. About Sparklo: Sparklo is a global UAE-based cleantech company that revolutionises the recycling industry and encourages sustainable practices worldwide. Through its innovative reverse vending machines (RVMs) known as Sparklomats, the company motivates users to recycle plastic bottles and aluminium cans by offering engaging rewards. Sparklo's cutting-edge software and hardware solutions utilise AI and machine learning to optimise recycling processes, making it fun and easy for individuals to contribute to a sustainable lifestyle. With a growing network of more than 250,000 users in the UAE alone, Sparklo collects over 200,000 bottles and cans daily. The company operates in over ten countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Vietnam, India, Thailand, Kazakhstan, and Georgia.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Coca-Cola Machines Now Pay You for Empty Bottles
Imagine getting rewarded just for doing the right thing — that's what Coca-Cola is doing to fight plastic pollution and promote sustainable habits. The beverage giant is rolling out Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) that pay you back in points for every empty bottle you return. Coca-Cola's Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) are innovative recycling kiosks designed to encourage sustainable behavior by rewarding users for recycling empty beverage containers. Depending on the model, these machines accept plastic bottles and aluminum cans, scanning each item to verify its recyclability. Once accepted, the containers are compacted and stored for collection. Users earn reward points through a connected mobile app, which can be redeemed for discounts on Coca-Cola products or other incentives. This initiative promotes recycling and supports Coca-Cola's broader sustainability goals by integrating recycled materials back into the production cycle. It's a much-needed positive step for Coca-Cola, one of the world's largest plastic polluters. While RVMs themselves have a longer history (the first prototype by TOMRA was established in 1972), Coca-Cola'' specific initiative to incorporate them into their recycling and reward programs appears to have started in July 2018 during the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle. These pilot machines were part of the company's 'World Without Waste' initiative, aiming to collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can it sells globally by 2030. The RVMs allowed visitors to deposit PET bottles or aluminum cans, with each item triggering a five-cent donation to Special Olympics Washington and providing participants with additional resources via text message. Shortly after, in the same month, Coca-Cola Great Britain partnered with Merlin Entertainments to launch a summer trial of RVMs at several UK theme parks, including Alton Towers Resort and LEGOLAND Windsor. These early implementations marked Coca-Cola's initial steps in integrating RVMs into public spaces, which have since expanded to various regions, including India. In India, the first RVM was installed in 2016. At that time, the benefits of using RVMs were mostly framed as societal contributions through charity and donations, rather than personal rewards. Several years later, RVMs can now be found across various regions in the country, and as of this writing, these machines personally reward recyclers with points that can be redeemed for perks. The most recent installations of RVMs in India were in Puri, Odisha. Installed by Biocrux India Pvt. Ltd., these machines are capable of compacting plastic bottles by up to 70%, storing as many as 800 bottles before collection. Users are rewarded with points for every bottle deposited through the Biocrux mobile app, which can be redeemed for discounts on Coca-Cola products. The collected plastic is responsibly recycled into new materials such as clothing, bags, and secondary packaging. Equipped with digital display screens, the machines also serve as platforms for environmental education and foster community involvement. A centralized dashboard enables remote monitoring of machine performance to ensure operational efficiency. During the project inauguration, Abhimanyu Behera, Executive Officer of Puri Municipality, emphasized the importance of collaboration: 'Maintaining cleanliness in Puri is a shared responsibility that requires strong collaboration between public and private stakeholders. We appreciate the efforts of Coca-Cola India and its partners in supporting waste management and recycling through technology and public participation. Initiatives like this not only enhance civic engagement but also set a precedent for other cities to follow.' Rajesh Ayapilla, Senior Director of Sustainability and CSR at Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, highlighted the collective nature of waste management: 'Waste management requires long-term collaboration between industry, citizens, and government. By introducing reverse vending machines in Puri, we're enabling people to take simple yet meaningful steps to make recycling part of everyday behaviour. This effort complements our ongoing public awareness campaign, Maidaan Saaf, which encourages collective responsibility and action around recycling and waste management.' These efforts align with Coca-Cola's global Partner to Collect ambition, which is a key element of its broader sustainability goals. The commitment focuses on strengthening packaging recovery by investing in effective collection systems and increasing the use of recycled materials in primary packaging. Sources: The Cool Down, Media Brief Read the original article on GEEKSPIN. Affiliate links on GEEKSPIN may earn us and our partners a commission.
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Earn Re 1 for crushing a plastic bottle in Karnataka from this World Environment Day
Bengaluru: Soon, an empty water bottle that you trash as waste could fetch you money! All you need to do is drop those bottles into a reverse vending machine (RVM) set up by urban local bodies at various locations in your city. The RVMs will not just crush and shred the bottle, but also give you Rs 1 in return per bottle. Determined to make Karnataka plastic-free, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) planned to unveil these RVMs in front of Vidhana Soudha during Environment Day celebrations on June 5. Buoyed by a pilot initiative in Hubballi a few weeks ago, the board submitted a proposal to the state govt for installation within the limits of city corporations and municipalities. PM Narendraswamy, chairperson of KSPCB, said, "If you incentivise anything, people will respond to it. Earlier, there was hardly any response to shredding machines as there were no incentives. But now the machines will give you a coin (Re 1) for every bottle that you deposit. If you do not drop, at least the rag pickers who collect these bottles will drop them at these machines as they will get money." Swamy clarified the machines will be installed by its manufacturer and hence, will not cost anything to the govt. "We only need to provide them with space and operational requirements. For them, the crushed, shredded plastic will be the revenue," he clarified. KSPCB also claimed it would go plastic-free and would recommend the govt to also embrace plastic-free administration aligning with the United Nations' motto 'End Plastic Pollution' from June 5. Close on the lines of KSPCB, completing 50 years, a year-long celebration has been planned with a lot of awareness activities.
Filipino Times
01-05-2025
- Business
- Filipino Times
Over 23 million recyclables collected in 2024 through Abu Dhabi's ‘bottle return scheme'
Abu Dhabi's efforts to reduce waste and promote sustainability are paying off. Through its Bottle Return Scheme, the city collected more than 23 million recyclable items in 2024, including over 544,000 kilograms of plastic and 18,000 kilograms of aluminum, helping to reduce the environmental impact of waste. Since its launch in 2023, the program has recorded over 2,000 tonnes of plastic bottles returned. Thanks to this effort, the emirate has prevented over 3.5 million kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, supporting Abu Dhabi's goal of cutting carbon emissions by 22% by 2027. This program encourages residents to return used plastic bottles and aluminium cans by dropping it on 'Sparklomats,' also known as Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs). Led by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) in collaboration with cleantech company Sparklo, more than 100 RVMs have been installed across the city's popular retail outlets, making recycling more accessible and engaging for the public. One machine even set a record by processing over 8,500 items in a single day, showing how convenient recycling can boost participation. Officials say the success of the program proves how easy access and strong partnerships between government and private companies can drive real change. 'We seek to integrate sustainability practices into daily life in the emirate,' Sheikha Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Executive Director of the Integrated Environmental Planning and Policy Sector at EAD, said. 'This initiative, with its objectives represents a strategic investment that consolidates the concept of environmental responsibility. By supporting the principles of the circular economy, we seek to strengthen Abu Dhabi's leading position in the global transformation towards building a sustainable future,' she added.
