OLDS — Contrary to what some might expect, automation of the Olds Bottle Depot actually resulted in increased employment, manager Lisa Swan says.
Swan made that statement in September while touring the Albertan through the facility during the 50th anniversary celebration of Accredited Supports to the Community, which operates the facility.
The depot, located at 4322 50th Ave., was automated in May.
Swan said the bottle depot now employs seven people — five full-time and two part-time — three more than it did before the automated processing facility was installed.
“(That’s) because the object of this is for the customers to be in and out a lot faster,” Swan said.
“We have more work back here, so I have three extra people now. They’re back here, pulling the bags and putting the right stuff in the right bins.”
The bottles and cans, taken in by an employee, end up on a conveyor belt. A camera reads the bar code on each can or bottle.
They then get sorted into large bags underneath that conveyor. A puff of air is shot into the bags to make sure there’s enough space for them.
“When you see a red light, that means stop, the bag is full,” Swan said, pointing to the light.
When the bags are full, they’re loaded onto pallets. When about 50 have been collected, Swan contacts a trucking company. It comes and takes them away.
Swan said the depot was only down for about a week while the new system, brought in from Denmark, was installed.
A couple of guys came out to help install it. Swan said they actually had it installed in about a day-and-a-half, but then had to go to other sites before coming back to teach staff how to operate the system.
“We shut down on a Monday and we were back open the following Monday,” she said.
