Hannaford to donate bottle, can deposits to charity

ALBANY, N.Y. — Customers who recycle bottles and cans with deposit values at Greenback Redemption Centers in Hannaford supermarkets in New York state will have the option of donating the money to local charities.

Hannaford announced a partnership with Tomra, the company that developed the "reverse vending machines" for collecting beverage containers at the Greenback centers, to arrange the donations. The first beneficiary will be the Northeastern New York Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which will be the featured community organization through May 31. Donated proceeds from 22 Hannaford stores will go toward Type 1 diabetes research.

"As a supermarket retailer, we are in an ideal position to raise awareness and support for worthy causes in the areas we serve," Hannaford Supermarkets community relations specialist Molly Tarleton said. "Hannaford is happy to partner with Tomra to provide our shoppers with an easy and convenient way to support important organizations in our neighborhoods."

Under the program, each Tomra reverse vending machine will feature a button that the customer can press after recycling deposit-valued bottles and cans to convert the deposit into a donation.