Rechargeable Batteries from a Custom Vending Machine

A variety of Whole Foods grocery stores in the Northwest United States recently added a special series of custom vending machines outside of their establishments. And while you may think a vending machine on Whole Foods grounds would sell healthy drinks and snacks, the actual product is something far more sustainable.

According to OPB.org, Portland-based company Bettery has designed a special custom battery vending machine that dispenses rechargeable AA and AAA batteries. The concept is simple: Users can put their old batteries in the vending machine and receive a pair of freshly charged ones in return. Bettery CEO Charles Kawasaki hopes that this battery reuse system can help limit clutter and pollution.

“You can reuse them up to 500 times, and that’s what Bettery does,” said Kawasaki in the article. “We reuse them over and over, so that a single battery takes the place of hundreds of batteries that would otherwise have gone into the landfill.”

While batteries and vending machines are no strangers to each other, Bettery’s custom battery vending machine solution certainly puts an interesting, environmentally-friendly spin on things. We always love hearing about new and innovative automated supply dispensing machines, especially when they can change the world for the better. What do you think about the Bettery product?