Orange could soon have up to four bulk Return and Earn recycling machines run by disability employment provider Wangarang.
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The non-for-profit organisation recently announced the installation of two Return and Earn machines located at its Forest Road headquarters with the possibility of two more on the way.
The machines are similar to the existing Return and Earn sites but can take a much higher volume of cans and bottles, meaning people won't have to feed items through one at a time.
Wangarang chair Gary Norton said the money earned from recycled items could be worth up to $500,000.
"In communities like Orange and Bathurst there are tens of millions of bottles recycled each year," he said.
"All of those can't go through the singulators and anecdotally we think it's about 10 million bottles that head down to Bathurst.
"That facility receives just under five cents per container to handle those so that will now be coming to Orange. If we can stop 10 million containers going to Bathurst that will deliver $500,000 for us to reinvest.
"Instead of rocking up to the singulator and loading items one at a time they can come here with large bin and tip the bin onto the conveyor belt.
"It's fantastic for the environment as well."
Mr Norton said he was pleased to see Wangarang expand their operations, having recently completed a bottle re-labelling contract with Robert Oatley wines.
"We currently employ over 120 people with disabilities and we give them lifetime employment," he explained.
"With the Return and Earn facility it's going into a shed the size of a football field and the facility will be manned with some of our workers.
"We are starting with two machines and hopefully upgrading to four machines.
"It will be open for five days, during general business hours and we're hoping we will have it open by the end of August."
Orange currently has two Return and Earn points, at the Endsleigh Avenue site and at Woolworths North Orange.
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