Scout deposit return machine locations in days, not months.
For deposit return systems, packaging organizations, RVM suppliers, and waste processors expanding their return point networks.
The problem
Bulk machines need more than retail floor space.
Adding thousands of new return points requires scouting at a pace no small team can sustain manually. Bulk return machines on non-retail locations — gas stations, waste transfer stations, amusement parks, schools — add fresh constraints: power supply, surface conditions, 24/7 accessibility, commercial alignment with the host.
Locata scouted the first hundred bulk return locations for Statiegeld Nederland. The methodology now works across every adjacent collection category: glass containers, underground waste collection, textile bins, parcel lockers.
What Locata does
Four use cases, one platform.
Same scoring backbone applied to the decisions circular teams make every quarter.
Bulk machine site qualification
Across thousands of gas stations, transfer stations, and large-host candidates, pre-qualify on physical suitability (surface, power, access) and commercial viability (host operator, lease feasibility) in one pass.
Outbound prioritisation
Sort by hosts most likely to engage, given their location profile and visibility. Your outreach team works from a ranked list, not a phone book.
Adjacent infrastructure scouting
Glass containers, underground waste, textile bins, parcel lockers. Same methodology applies — different scoring prompt, different physical constraints, same auditable trail.
Network refresh and consolidation
Score existing locations against current performance and new candidates together. Where should you add density, where should you consolidate, where should you exit.
Data we connect
The sources behind every score.
Deposit-return scouting blends the standard geodata stack with operator-specific footprint data — most candidates are commercial sites where the host commitment matters as much as the geography.
See the full enrichment list for cadence and coverage.
Kadaster
Parcel ownership and zoning constraints.
BAG
Building footprints, frontage, surrounding land use.
BGT
Surface inventory — pavement type, manoeuvring space.
Location operator data
Gas station chains, transfer station registries, large-host networks.
Traffic & visitor volume
NDW for roadside sites, CBS mobility for catchment volume.
Street View
Frontage, accessibility, signage, host environment.
Web data on hosts
Operator footprints, lease length signals, brand alignment.
What a report looks like
Per-candidate qualification, ready for host outreach.
Every shortlisted location ships with the physical, regulatory, and commercial reasoning that earned its rank. Your outreach team starts every host conversation with the answer to 'why this site, why now' already prepared.
[ schematic preview — real per-customer screenshots withheld ]
Pricing
Predictable, per-project or annual.
Per project or annual subscription. Initial scouting rounds are typically one-off pilots; ongoing network expansion runs on subscription.
Project pilot
from €15,000
Fixed scope, fixed price. Defined region, defined deliverable, defined timeline.
Ongoing subscription
from €2,500/month
For programs running on a refresh cadence. Includes integration support and prompt iteration.
How we start
How we start.
A typical engagement opens with a one-region pilot — usually 300 to 1,000 candidate hosts — to validate scoring against an early shortlist your team has hand-vetted. From there it extends to national coverage or adjacent collection categories.
- 01Week 1: host constraints + scoring prompt definition
- 02Week 2: scoring run + reasoning review
- 03Week 3: outreach-ready shortlist (GeoJSON + PDF + contact priorities)
FAQ
Deposit return & circular: common questions.
What is Locata for deposit return systems?
Locata is an AI site selection platform for deposit return systems, packaging organizations, RVM suppliers, and waste processors. It screens thousands of non-retail host candidates — gas stations, transfer stations, amusement parks, schools — against physical constraints (surface, power, 24/7 access) and commercial viability (operator, lease length, brand fit) in one pass.Did Locata work on Statiegeld Nederland?
Yes. Locata scouted the first ~100 bulk return machine locations for Statiegeld Nederland, screening over 1,000 gas station and transfer station candidates in three weeks. The same methodology now extends across glass containers, textile collection, underground waste, and parcel locker infrastructure.Beyond bulk return machines, what else does this cover?
The same scoring backbone — different prompt and constraints — applies to glass-container siting, underground-waste-collection repositioning, textile-bin networks, and parcel-locker infrastructure. Locata is a methodology for screening host-network expansion, not a single-purpose RVM tool.What data does Locata enrich each candidate with?
Kadaster (parcel ownership, zoning), BAG (building footprint, frontage), BGT (surface inventory and manoeuvring space), operator footprint data (gas station chains, transfer registries), traffic and visitor volume (NDW, CBS mobility), Google Street View (frontage and accessibility), and web data on host operators (lease signals, brand alignment).How long does a deposit return pilot take?
Three weeks end-to-end. Week one defines host constraints and the scoring prompt with your team. Week two is the scoring run plus reasoning review. Week three is handover: GeoJSON, PDF reports per shortlisted host, and an outreach priority list ranked by likelihood of host engagement.What does Locata cost for deposit return work?
Initial scouting rounds are typically one-off pilots from €15,000 fixed-scope. Ongoing network-expansion programs run on subscription from €2,500/month, including integration support and prompt iteration as the network grows.
Related reading
More context on how Locata works and where it fits.
Multi-model AI scoring, explained.
Why three frontier models score every Locata candidate independently — and why disagreement between them is more informative than any single confidence number.
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CompareTry it on your data
See Locata on circular candidates.
30 minutes, online. Bring a sample candidate set — we'll run a live scoring with full reasoning per location.