Recycling Bottles and Cans
In Norway, recycling bottles and cans is an integral part of daily life; more than three-quarter of a million bottles and cans are returned to grocery stores every day. My 2007 dissertation examined the historical development of the sociotechnical infrastructure system that makes this recycling activity possible through a study of Tomra Systems – the world’s leading producer of reverse vending machines (flaskepantautomater) – from 1970 to 2000.
The dissertation argues that the reverse vending machine and its identity changed over time, although the basic functionality of the machine – to accept empty containers and give a refund receipt – stayed the same. In the beginning of the story, Tomra aimed their technology solely at grocers who needed to effectively and efficiently handle returned containers in their stores. But in the 1980s, during the so-called “green wave” of environmentalism, Tomra shifted its positioning of the reverse vending machine from a high-tech infrastructure technology to a green one. Policy makers began to use reverse vending machines to facilitate the implementation of deposit-refund systems, which were enacted to reach environmental goals. The cultural identity of the machine thus evolved in an intricately interwoven relationship with developments in a larger system of beverage container technology, the legislation instituted to manage these containers, and the ways in which consumers consumed and disposed of their empty bottles and cans.
By following the parallel technical development of reverse vending machines and the cultural context of beverage container recycling, the dissertation exposes the relationship between technology and environmentalism. Today’s environmentalism runs shallow and wide. Instead of addressing environmental concerns by radically changing their life styles and reducing their consumption, most people engage in small acts of everyday environmentalism like recycling bottles, paper, plastic, and glass; using low-energy light bulbs; or buying carbon credits to offset the environmental cost of the seasonal vacation flight – while at the same time maintaining or increasing their consumption level. The dissertation argues that everyday environmentalism exists in a symbiotic relationship with technology and that we need to recognize the role of technology in promoting environmental goals.
This dissertation builds on the history of technology, environmental history, and business history. The dissertation demonstrates how automation technologies like the reverse vending machine became both a money-making enterprise and an integral part of environmental policy in the last half of the 20th century. These technologies seem trivial, even invisible, but are deeply embedded and interwoven in the politics, interests, values, and knowledge of modern society.
