Many technological 'solutions' don't solve anything but only add complexity to an already overly complicated world. In my opinion this is another example how to complicate life: making a complex "solution" for a apparent problem that should not exist in the first place: Too many plastic bottles.

Education and incentives to use less plastic in general are money/energy better spent.

This comment besides others that mention energy usage, jamming, vandalism, abuse  etc.

I agree that reducing plastic at the source is important but current alternatives can’t meet global demand and widespread adoption would take decades even if they do... and this is another big topic for discussions which many industrialists vs environmentalists are arguing over

This passive energy free system handles existing bottles efficiently, crushing and guiding them to collection bins as a low cost, low maintenance proof of concept to complement broader waste reduction efforts... thanks for the follow up

A real, functional RVM (reverse vending machine) like the ones here requires electricity to run the barcode scanner to admit only eligible bottles (plastic and glass) and cans, and power the computer issuing the refund vouchers. Some keen scavengers return hundreds of bottles and cans at a time for tens of dollars refund, making your small collection bin risible. And inevitably your design will jam sometime because IRL not all returns are in pristine shape as depicted which means a person will have to clear it, and in proximity to traffic.

Then in the energy equation you have to account for the trucks taking away the huge number of bottles and cans accumulated. But it's worth it to keep plastics out of the environment and recover the metal and glass which needed a lot of energy to create from raw material. These days there is plenty of solar power in the grid to power the RVM and some day the truck will be electric.

If you want to recover energy from the speed hump, you're better off feeding it back to the grid, assuming the small amount is worth the capital cost.

You've probably used more energy on AI than you'll ever get out of this impractical idea.

@Ken Yap Thank you for the thoughtful feedback. I agree that reverse vending machines are effective where deposit systems exist especially for sorting and refunding bottles. My concept is not intended to replace those systems. Instead it explores a different approach which is a passive mechanical infrastructure that can operate without electricity or user interaction.

The idea is aimed at environments where reverse vending machines are not practical due to cost, power availability or maintenance requirements. In many places plastic bottles are discarded in public areas or roadsides rather than returned for deposit. A passive system integrated into traffic calming infrastructure could help reduce volume and collect waste opportunistically.

You raise good points about maintenance and jamming. In a real implementation the crushing channel would need self clearing geometry, access panels for safe maintenance and larger collection bins connected to periodic waste collection. These are engineering challenges but not fundamentally different from those addressed in other mechanical waste systems.

Regarding energy recovery the goal of the concept is not to generate electricity but to use the unavoidable mechanical energy of vehicles already slowing down at speed humps to perform useful work namely volume reduction of plastic waste.

I appreciate the critique and the opportunity to think through these practical considerations. Feedback like this helps improve the design.

Experience has shown that a Container Deposit Refund is the most effective way to get people to take them to a central collection point where the operation can be done efficiently. People even go collecting containers for the refund, cleaning the environment. Your machine has no such incentive and will get vandalised in no time.

BTW there's no need to both reply and use a @ tag, it just generates more notification noise.

@Ken Yap You’re absolutely right that container deposit systems are very effective where they exist. They create a strong incentive for people to return bottles and the centralized processing makes sorting and recycling efficient.

My concept isn’t meant to replace those systems. It’s more about addressing a different situation which is for places where deposit programs aren’t implemented or where bottles still end up in public spaces, roadsides or general waste streams. In many cities around the world plastic bottles are simply discarded rather than returned.

The idea here is to explore whether existing infrastructure (like traffic calming devices) could be used to passively reduce the volume of bottles and collect them without requiring electricity, user interaction, or behavioral incentives. It’s more of a complementary concept than an alternative to deposit systems.

You’re also right that vandalism and maintenance are real concerns for any public device. Those are important engineering considerations that would need to be addressed with robust construction, protected access panels and appropriate placement.

I appreciate the perspective and it’s helpful to think about how different approaches to recycling infrastructure can coexist depending on the context.

AI Slop. "no electricity"... then how do you get the bottles into slots and back out? Who moves them? 

This kind of garbage should be banned.

Because of the rotating rollers due to shear force, rollers guides the movement of crashed bottles from the first trash bin where the bottles are disposed to the other side where they will be collected again in another bin without electricity. 

AI is great tool to use to visualize a description. Feel free to see the CAD model of the core mechanism 

Thank you for your comments and feel free to follow the project development

This has to be meant as a joke

@Sushionroad  April Fool’s isn’t until next month 🙂 The concept is meant seriously though. It explores whether traffic infrastructure could passively compress plastic waste using vehicle weight instead of powered machinery. It’s still an early concept but I’m interested in taking it to market when the time is right 

I had to check calendar. You are month too early?