Ball Aluminium Cups and Denver Arts and Venues have announced the installation of a reverse vending machine (RVM) on the Red Rocks Amphitheatre's Top Plaza to increase aluminium recycling in the venue.

The machine was installed on 2 October and will be available at Red Rocks through 12 November. It aims to increase recycling rates at Red Rocks and educate consumers about the benefits of using aluminium.

Guests can insert their Ball Aluminium Cup, aluminium can or aluminium bottle into the front of the machine, which then uses a conveyor belt to scan, crush and sort the aluminium packaging. Once the packaging is sorted, users will have the opportunity to scan a QR code to enter a chance to win Red Rocks merchandise.

Ball worked with RVM provider Cycle, powered by Recycle Track Systems, to install the machine. CEO Gregory Lettieri stated: “Our collaboration is about more than just recycling; it's about gamifying sustainability.”

The RVM installation will aid Red Rocks' existing waste diversion efforts. With more than one million visitors annually, Red Rocks strives to reduce landfill waste by using a three-bin waste collection system and an employee waste sorting team to maximise recycling rates.

Entertainment and sporting events are hotbeds for packaging waste, requiring immense clean-up and recycling operations.

At the end of the season, the RVM will be able to provide Red Rocks with metrics on the quantity, type and mass of aluminium recycled.

Ball Aluminium Cups has been an official sustainability partner of Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Denver Arts and Venues since 2021.

The company’s general manager and president Emily Fong Mitchell commented: "Installing the reverse vending machine at Red Rocks brings many of Ball's priorities to life – incentivising recycling, educating consumers about aluminium's sustainable properties and driving change through entertainment events.”