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Deposit-return machine for reusable packaging

Speeding up reuse
by collecting
every kind of reusable packaging

Q: How much of my team's time will it take?

Less than two minutes to empty the machine with a pallet truck, without touching a single container. The rest of the time, it handles everything itself: it accepts or rejects each container, refunds the customer, and we even take care of customer support for shoppers! The Collector in detail

Q: And how much does it cost?

We don't sell the machine: it is a monthly subscription that covers installation, maintenance and support, part of which is paid for by the producer responsibility organisations. The Collector in detail

For 13 years, The Keepers has been designing self-service kiosks that make life easier for shoppers and retailers. Our ambition: to put all our expertise to work for reuse, bringing together technology, customer experience and impact.

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Our other solutions

The reuse loop

1. Reuse

How reuse works

In-store purchaseConsumptionReturn
& RefundCollectionWashingRefilling

Reusable packaging never becomes waste

Once the contents have been consumed, a bottle is brought back to the store, collected, washed and then refilled, and the loop starts again with every use. To find out more:

The Collector, the in-store deposit-return machine

2. The Collector

A machine people actually want to use

Installed at the store entrance, in supermarkets and hypermarkets as well as organic stores, the Collector is a self-service reverse vending machine: it takes back the reusable packaging customers return, recognises each item one by one and refunds the deposit, while the store team gets on with other things.

A customer returns reusable packaging into the Collector, a reverse vending machine installed at a store entrance

A customer uses the Collector installed in the entrance area of a hypermarket

The Satoriz Saint-Étienne team in front of their Collector

A store employee swaps the Collector's full pallet box using a manual pallet truck

A customer returns a plastic deposit tray into the Collector

Discover the Collector

Why choose the Collector?

2. The Collector

What it can do

Every format, every material

Bottles, jars, pots, trays, tubs: from 25 cl to 6 L, in glass, plastic, aluminium or stainless steel. Reuse goes well beyond bottles in the drinks aisle!

A choice of refund options

Customers choose on screen how they want their deposit back: store voucher, bank card, loyalty card or a donation to a charity.

Fully self-service

The machine recognises, stores and refunds every item without any help from store staff. The store team only steps in to swap the pallet box when it is full.

A standard pallet box

Packaging is stored without breakage in a 665 L pallet box, which can be swapped in under 2 min with a simple manual pallet truck.

Several recognition methods

The machine cross-checks the shape, weight, barcode and label of each item to assign it the right deposit.

In-house artificial intelligence

The algorithms that recognise packaging are developed by our teams and run on board the machine.

Hugo explains it in a video

Discover the Collector

Our partners

3. Case studies

None of this would be possible without them

The retailers who trust us

Over 100Collectors installed in France

We team up with

Reuse operators

They collect and wash containers, then put them back into circulation.

Producer responsibility organisations

They fund and organise the reuse sector.

In the field

3. Case studies

Equipped stores to give you ideas

Fresh food aisle at Intermarché Bidart: reusable jars and deposit labels

The Satoriz Saint-Étienne team in front of the Collector

A customer returns packaging into the Collector at a store entrance

All case studies

Your first questions

FAQ

And where to find the full answer

Deposit-return machine, RVM: what are we talking about?

It is the machine installed in a store that takes back the deposit-bearing packaging returned by consumers and refunds their deposit. It is also called a deposit-return machine, a container return machine, or an RVM, short for reverse vending machine: a vending machine in reverse that, instead of selling a product, takes back packaging and gives back the deposit. The Collector is a reverse vending machine designed for reuse: it accepts bottles, jars, pots, trays and tubs, and stores them without breakage so they can be washed and then refilled. How the Collector works

Is the Collector right for my store?

From organic stores to hypermarkets, it is already installed in supermarkets and hypermarkets at Auchan, Carrefour, Coopérative U, E.Leclerc, Intermarché and Satoriz: over 100 Collectors across France. It takes up one linear metre, at the store entrance or in the entrance area. Case studies

How much space does a collection machine take up?

The Collector has the footprint of a standard pallet: it takes up one linear metre, can be free-standing or built in depending on your store, and remains accessible to people with reduced mobility. The Collector in detail

How much of my team's time will it take?

Less than two minutes to empty the machine with a pallet truck, without touching a single container. The rest of the time, it handles everything itself: it accepts or rejects each container, refunds the customer, and we even take care of customer support for shoppers! The Collector in detail

I don't want my team to handle support

They won't: the helpline number is displayed on the machine and our teams answer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Every machine is monitored remotely, and we come on site whenever needed. The Collector in detail

Why get equipped now?

Few stores offer reuse yet, while consumer demand is high. Win new customers and keep them coming back by making reuse an extra part of your offer! Today, you can choose your equipment and your partners, with funding from your producer responsibility organisation, rather than having a timetable and a way of working imposed on you by a national roll-out. Why get equipped

And how much does it cost?

We don't sell the machine: it is a monthly subscription that covers installation, maintenance and support, part of which is paid for by the producer responsibility organisations. The Collector in detail

What does the law say about reuse?

The law sets reuse targets for producers, and stores take part through their own-label brands. Everything is explained, with deadlines and funding, on our dedicated page. What does the law say?

The Collector Reuse Case studies

Who are we?

4. The Keepers

Designed and assembled in France

Founded in 2013, The Keepers has been a mission-driven company (French "société à mission" status) since January 2025. Our machines are designed and assembled in France: R&D, assembly and support are all based in Clichy, and production is carried out by Bourasseau Industrie, in the Vendée.

We are a team of around twenty, who have been with us for six years on average. In this video, François, our CEO, explains why we believe in reuse.

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