Ganamos Reciclando franchisees report broken machines and missed pickups

Ganamos Reciclando: €8,500 for a machine no one comes to empty

Paying between €6,500 and €16,500 for a reverse vending machine, signing a franchise agreement, and discovering that the truck supposed to collect the material never arrives. This is the sequence described by several franchisees of Ganamos Reciclando, a network promising extra income in exchange for storing waste—PET bottles, aluminum cans—and accumulating testimonies of unpaid dues, breakdowns, and unanswered calls. According to one account, the first payment was €8,470; thirty days later, another €2,000-plus was due. Then, silence.

What the franchise promises and what it costs

In the commercial information available to interested parties, the investment starts at €6,500 for a basic machine plus a €2,000 entry fee: €8,500 in total. The version with a shredder, called Plus, rises to €16,500. Additionally, there are two local advertising plans, costing €2,000 and €4,000, which the company recommends but does not impose. The business model involves the franchisee installing the device, people depositing containers, and a management company collecting them while paying an incentive per kilo.

The problem, according to several accounts, is that this incentive does not compensate. A calculation circulating in discussions places the price of aluminum scrap at 40 cents per kilo at scrap yards, while PET has no commercial outlet: plastic managers are throwing it into bins because no one wants it. At these prices, the cost of dispatching the truck exceeds the value of the load.

Broken machines and a phone that doesn't ring

The most detailed account comes from a franchisee who signed a contract a year ago, paid in full, and received the machine without issues. From then on, everything went downhill: breakdowns from day one, repairs taking days to arrive, and calls going unanswered. When it was time for the management company to collect the material to settle profits, more than a year passed without a single truck appearing. After dozens of calls, emails, and messages, the phone number ceased to exist on the other end.

Another case points to 2018: contract signed, first payment of €8,470, second payment after thirty days, and complete disappearance. Four years of attempting contact without response. The figure repeats, suggesting a pattern of staged billing trinc by abandonment.

The franchisor's business, not the franchisee's

The suspicion running through the conversation is that the profitable business is not recycling, but selling machines. One franchisee summarizes it bluntly: the equipment price is "a bad joke," the franchise service is non-existent, and the compensation for the franchisee's time "is enough to make you cry." He adds that the machine is useless and outdated.

Some were more thorough during due diligence. An interested party reviewed the incentive pricing information alongside the contract, detected discrepancies, asked for explanations, and received a revealing response: the information sent "was not correct." He did not sign. He saved money and time.

Joint complaints and lawyers on the horizon

As the issue becomes known, several affected individuals have started moving in the same direction: joint litigation. Messages multiply asking for contact to join a group complaint, and some point out that a law firm is already coordinating the lawsuit. The logic is simple: the more affected parties, the greater the strength and the larger the legal fees.

The conversation also leaves a warning for others. Someone who met with the company, ready with funds, backed out upon seeing no profitability and suspecting late payments. His conclusion: people don't move for half a cent, and anyone investing in this likely hasn't done the math properly.

How many more franchisees are waiting for a truck that never arrives?