Circular economy: plastic bottles in exchange for free bus or metro tickets. In Rome all this is reality thanks to the initiative launched by Atac for the collection and recycling of plastic bottles.
The “+ Ricicli + Viaggi” campaign will last 12 months and will reward all those passengers who deliver 30 empty bottles with a free ticket credited to the MyCicero and Tabnet Apps in three machines installed by Coripet (Pet Recycling Consortium) in the stations of Cipro Metro A, Piramide Metro B and San Giovanni Metro C.
“We can say that we are the first major European capital to present this innovation. A machine that eats plastic bottles and issues a credit with which to buy bus tickets. A beautiful revolution that helps us in many ways: first of all we show that the circular economy is easy to apply, then we encourage not only the correct supply of plastic but also a different way of paying for the bus ticket by aligning ourselves with Atac in the fight evasion ” – said the mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi.
Passengers will receive a bonus of five cents for each bottle of any size entered in the machine provided by the Consortium, which will be paid into the virtual purse of the app. Travelers will be able to accumulate unlimited points and discount them directly for the purchase, starting from the 5 minutes following the booking, of one or more tickets for sale on the B + apps (Bit 100 minutes, 24/48 / 72h and monthly subscription ).
Paolo Simioni, president of Atac, is satisfied: “you need 30 bottles to get a ticket that will be loaded on the app. These machines work a lot because the green feel is more and more widespread. Thanks to this system, waste, which is a value, becomes money. A way to reward virtuous travelers and go in the direction of the dematerialization of tickets”.
An initiative that also looks at the objectives set by the European Union. “By January 2025 – Corrado Dentis said, – it will be mandatory to collect 77% of pet liquid containers and produce new bottles with 25% recyclable plastic. The initiative of the Municipality of Rome and Atac, therefore, goes in the direction of this important goal set by the European Union”.
Atac promotes the circular economy and signs the green turning point, rewarding responsible behavior from an environmental point of view and building loyalty among customers who use the mobile channel. Moreover, thanks to the machines installed by the consortium, all the bottles collected in the three stops will be recycled and will become new bottles.
