Refreshing concept

Most people take the cold drinks they buy from vending machines for granted. But don’t include Adam Green, founder of The Green Drinks Company, among them.

Recognising the impact that transportation of bulky cans and bottles has on the environment before they are dispensed from conventional vending machines, he created a more environmentally friendly solution.

The results of his company’s development efforts is called Pouchlink, a machine based on the simple notion that if a drink could be packaged inside the vending machine - rather than hundreds of miles away in a factory and then transported before being dispensed - the carbon footprint of the system would be reduced by around 75 per cent.

To make that concept a reality, the Pouchlink vending machine operates much like a mini drink-bottling factory - it takes fruit-juice concentrate, mixes it with freshly filtered and chilled water from the mains and then dispenses it into a re-sealable pouch.