Clynk, South Portland, Maine, has received a $22,500 one-year grant from the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) to commercialize investments made in its processing capacity, with the goal of increasing processing volume. The accelerator grant allows Clynk to better position itself to attract new bottle redemption states and partners within those states, according to the company. The technology used in its processing centers enables the company to target consumers within the 10 U.S. bottle bill states, or roughly 25 percent of the U.S. population.
Founded in 2006, Clynk is a bottle redemption service, using patented technology to process more than 900 million containers since its inception. Clynk says it offers a bag-drop system at retail that eliminates waiting in line, manual count and material separation and also reduces fraud. The company allows consumers to create a personal account, accumulate a balance and use funds at their discretion (for cash, groceries or electronic donations to local charities. The company currently operates in Hannaford Supermarkets in Maine and New York and has licensed technology in Oregon and in New Brunswick, California.