Machine to receive food containers to be reused

A machine to receive used food containers, comprising

• a housing that includes an interior volume and an outer shell, the housing comprises an inlet opening and an access opening into the housing;
• a rotatable plate positioned within the housing and aligned with respect to the inlet opening such that items passed through the inlet opening are received upon the plate, the plate further comprises a shroud that extends along a majority of a circumference of the plate and a void that exists where the shroud does not extend, wherein an item can be positioned upon the plate when the void of the shroud is aligned with the inlet opening and items are prevented from being positioned upon the plate when the shroud is aligned with the inlet opening;
• a sensor disposed upon the housing to monitor the inlet opening and identify when an object is placed upon the plate,
• further comprising a first switch that is selectively actuatable with rotation of the plate, wherein the first switch is actuated when the plate and the shroud are in a rotational position with respect to the housing so that the void is not aligned with the inlet opening of the house, such that the when the first switch is actuated shroud prevents objects from being put into the housing through the inlet opening

A method of receiving a plurality of food items, comprising:

• using an electronic reader to read an image affixed to an object, and communicating data corresponding to the read image to a controller;
• the controller comparing the data received from the electronic reader with data that is stored within a non-volatile memory and corresponds to one or more of a plurality of types of food containers that can be received, and determining if there is a match between the data corresponding to the read image and the data corresponding to the one or more of the plurality of types of food containers that can be received stored within the non-volatile memory;
• wherein a sensor that is disposed within a housing monitors an inlet opening within the housing monitors whether the object is placed upon a plate positioned proximate to the inlet opening, wherein the sensor sends a signal to the controller when the sensor identifies that an object is placed upon the plate;
• wherein when the controller determines that there is a match and receives the signal that the sensor has identified that the object is placed upon the plate, the controller causes the plate to rotate, wherein the plate includes a portion that extends to the inlet opening and a remaining portion that remains within an internal volume of the housing,
• wherein rotation of the plate causes the object to move into the internal volume of the housing and with continued rotation to fall off the plate and into a container positioned within the internal volume.