To provide an apparatus and a method for collecting containers capable of certainly aligning the containers conveyed in a plurality of rows on a conveyor into a single row without falling down the containers in a shorter distance than a conventional distance, and supplying the containers in the single row to the downstream side at a lower conveyance speed.

The containers are guided to a high speed side by an inlet acceleration guide inclined and disposed relative to a conveyer traveling direction on the inlet acceleration conveyor disposed in parallel and adjacent to a feed conveyor for conveying containers in the plurality of rows, the speed of which on the downstream side sequentially increases, and which sucks a container bottom surface from the container conveyance surface of the conveyor with negative pressure, and accelerated and collected. After that, the container bottom surface is sucked from the container conveyance surface with negative pressure, and the containers in the plurality of rows are made to be in the single row by repeating a deceleration process and an acceleration process of the containers on a conveyor connected with the inlet acceleration conveyor at least one time.