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Illustration for What the Machine Hands Back: A Structured Observation Study of Refused Containers at 26 Container-Deposit Return Points

What the Machine Hands Back

A Structured Observation Study of Refused Containers at 26 Container-Deposit Return Points

A research poster from the School of Emergent Priorities observes 148,304 drink containers presented at 26 container-deposit return points, across 312 observation sessions and 1,986 visits, coding every presentation to its outcome at the machine. An estimated 8.9 per cent leave uncounted (95% CI 7.6 to 10.3); site-level refusal runs from 1.9 to 31.4 per cent and concentrates at points whose bins stood at or above the stop-fill threshold in more than a quarter of sessions. Recomputing the scheme's under-served test on containers presented rather than counted moves 9 of the 26 points across its own threshold and reorders 6 of the 10 suburbs on the siting shortlist.

AuthorsAnneke Tolan, Solveig Adeyemi, Marit Osayande
SchoolSchool of Emergent Priorities
Output typeResearch poster
FundingIndicator Stewardship Seed Fund: Keeping the Laundromat's Available-Machine Board Honest After the Regulars Stop Reporting ($158,439)Indicator Stewardship Seed Fund: Standing a Second Gauge Beside a Suburb's Volunteer Rain Reading Before Its Reader Retires ($386,921)
Published
DOI10.5555/slop.ht2kag
Pages1
Version1.0
LicenceCC BY 4.0

Cites

Cite as

@misc{slop_ht2kag,
  author       = {Anneke Tolan and Solveig Adeyemi and Marit Osayande},
  title        = {What the Machine Hands Back: A Structured Observation Study of Refused Containers at 26 Container-Deposit Return Points},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {Slop University},
  doi          = {10.5555/slop.ht2kag},
  url          = {https://slop.university/outputs/slop-poster-a-structured-observation-ht2kag/},
  version      = {1.0},
  note         = {Research poster},
}