Bristol resident Chris Hayden said he never brought his used cans back to the supermarket to get the 10 cent deposit until he heard about a new way to return bottles and cans that he says is faster, easier and more efficient.
“I always just put my cans in the recycling bin and take them out to the curb because it was always such a pain to put each can in the machine and then have it go full,” Hayden said. “But now all I have to do is just scan my card, drop my bag off and go shop. It’s such an easy process.”
Hayden is now a customer with Maine-based CLYNK, a company offering a technology-based bottle and can return system that bills itself as quicker and simpler than visiting the local supermarket bottle room or one of the state’s increasingly rare redemption centers. In Maine, CLYNK has had a partnership with the Hannaford’s grocery store chain for years, crediting customer accounts each time they return bags of bottles and cans at a CLYNK drop-off location.
Now in Connecticut, CLYNK has announced a new partnership with the Stop & Shop grocery chain, rolling out the first locations at the Bristol Stop & Shop on Farmington Avenue and the Simsbury Stop & Shop on Bushy Hill Road. The company said more drop-off locations will soon follow.
“We’ve been in business for about 18 years in Maine and we’re incredibly excited to be here in Connecticut,” said Dan Kiley, chief of staff at CLYNK. “Part of our commitment to the state of Connecticut is not only bringing a different modality for bottle and can redemption to the state, but with our partner RecyclX LLC, we’re bringing new processing power and capabilities to the city of Bristol. All of these bottles and cans will get processed in Bristol.”
How it works: customers bring their CLYNK bags full of redeemable beverage containers to “sustainability drop-off stations” located in Stop & Shop grocery store parking lots. The drop-off stations process the bags using high-tech barcode scanners that instantly credit the deposits to a customer’s account. The materials are then sold to manufacturers to help close the recycling loop and prevent more waste from ending up in landfills and oceans.
“I will start off by saying I’m a CLYNKster myself,” said Bristol Mayor Jeff Caggiano at a press briefing Tuesday. “This is really a win, win situation. I’ll bring all my bottles and cans here from now on and they won’t go into the blue recycle barrel anymore. That really helps the city of Bristol because the city is paying to have cans and bottles taken to the recycling facility on Murphy Road.
“By the way, they do a great job on Murphy Road, as they say 40% of recyclable bottles and cans come through their facility. But now it’s (the deposits) going directly back to where it’s intended, to the citizens of Bristol. I’m very proud that we’re going to be the first one to have this,” he said.
The goal of the new program is to increase recycling access and sustainability efforts across Connecticut, according to CLYNK. Connecticut’s bottle redemption rate is just 45%, the second-lowest in New England states with bottle bills, ahead of only Massachusetts which has a redemption rate of just 38%, according to the company.
To encourage more people to redeem bottles, Connecticut passed a bill to further expand the bottle redemption program by raising the deposit values from five cents to 10 cents and the handling fee from two cents to 3.5 cents, to modernize the bill to current levels of inflation and other trends. Eligible beverages now include non-carbonated beverages, hard ciders and malt-based hard seltzers. Those changes went into effect on Jan. 1, according to officials.
“Connecticut has always been dealing with a lack of convenient redemption access,” said Shahil Kantesaria, CEO and Founder of RecyclX. “We only have about 18 redemption centers in the state, whereas other states have hundreds of centers. It’s very tough to permit and site locations, and with real estate prices being elevated, it’s a tough business position to be in. But we’re hoping with the CLYNK bag drop system, we can go and cover all the untouched territories in Connecticut and make it easy to redeem their bottles.”
RecyclX LLC, a 21,000-square-foot recycling plant located at 95 Wooster Court in Bristol, is partnering with CLYNK to be the drop-off location for the thousands of bottles and cans deposited at sustainability stations. Kantesaria said that the goal is to have drop-off stations at over 80 Stop & Shop locations across Connecticut in the next year, giving customers easy access to bottle redemption.
“It’s so much easier for customers than having to wait in line or have to wait once a bottle machine is full,” Kantesaria said. “It’s really the ease of use and the greater access that are a huge win for customers.”
Downloading the CLYNK app and signing up is free, but the company does charge to use its bags. Anyone using the recycling service must only use official CLYNK bags to drop off their bottles and cans. A box of 10 CLYNK bags costs $2.49 plus tax, and each 30-gallon bag can hold approximately 20 pounds of empty containers. Customers can buy the bags at Stop & Shop locations.
With each new account signup, the first box of 10 CLYNK bags is free, according to the company. If you sign up online, a voucher will be included in the company’s welcome kit, which is mailed within two to four days of signing up.
CLYNK offers customers two ways to redeem their deposits, including “grow your balance” or a $5 instant payment. With “grow your balance,” customers can collect containers without counting, let their balance accumulate in the CLYNK app and withdraw up to $99.99 per transaction. For immediate payment, customers can use the $5 instant payment option by counting exactly 50 containers per bag, dropping it and redeeming their instant $5 voucher at any Stop & Shop register.
Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com.