Where do old vending machines go?

Sometimes when visiting far flung places visitors come across vending machines from another age. These venerable machines have occasionally seen decades of use but still reliably dispense their drinks and confectionary with the same ability as they did when first manufactured. Interestingly, apart from upgrades and changes to the cost of items held within such vending machines could conceivably continue virtually forever, if properly maintained.

It is, however, the human way to always want better, newer, ever more elaborate machines and this means that older units get replaced with new shinier versions. So, what happens to all the old vending machines at the end of their service lives?

Most end their days being stripped of useful materials, for example copper wiring is particularly valuable. Glass and metal are crushed and then smelted down into fresh new glass and metal to used for other products. Leaving all the plastic components – most of which will sadly end up in landfill as most forms of plastic are expensive and uneconomic to recycle at present.

Then there is the problem of all the gases used to refrigerate our favourite drinks, food and confectionary. Many of these are extremely toxic and harmful both to us and to the environment, which requires careful handling and expensive disposal.

Around the world there are several organisations and campaigns to find better more sustainable solutions to this entirely man made problem.