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Glass bottles: the return of deposits

3 min

Description

Who remembers when we used to take our glass bottles back to the store in return for a few cents? Both fun and responsible, deposits on bottles are back in fashion. The proof.

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Although Germans are still used to the glass bottle deposit system, in France anyone under the age of twenty has never heard of it: the practice pretty much stuttered to a halt in the 1980s. However, various local initiatives are reviving it to satisfy consumers who are more aware of the importance of consuming responsibly: the zero waste challenge, the popularity of buying loose products and short distribution channels have all contributed to the comeback of deposits. "No one is risking launching a large-scale pilot project nationwide. But locally, it's trending and that's where it will work," saidĀ GĆ©rard BelletĀ to Le Monde in May 2019. This former financial controller turned to the circular economy in 2013 to foundĀ Jean Bouteille, a turnkey solution for stores that want to sell liquids loose.

As well as supplying loose oil, vinegar, wine, liquid detergent, and specialized equipment, the company offers returnable containers: empty bottles that are purchased on the first visit to the store and can be reused more than 20 times, reducing the waste generated by 90%. If customers no longer use them, they can take them back and the store will pay ā‚¬1. Returned bottles are washed and then put back into circulation.

The Jean Bouteille company was founded in Lille and today has 21 employees and 600 participating stores in France - as well as in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
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Sympathy capital

But the success of returnable bottles is not just a local curiosity. Fun and somewhat nostalgic, it is popular everywhere: according to a study carried out by ADEME in 2018, 88% of French consumers are in favor.Jā€™aime mes bouteillesĀ in the Jura,Ā Ma bouteille sā€™appelle reviensĀ in the DrĆ“me,Ā Boutā€™ Ć  Boutā€™Ā in the Pays de la Loire,Ā RECONCILĀ in Paris,Ā La ConsignerieĀ in Lilleā€¦ All over the place, local initiatives are linking small local brewers with increasingly discerning and demanding consumers.

It must be said that reusing bottles has it all: compared to recycling glass - which is very energy-intensive because the bottles have to be melted at 1,500Ā°C for many hours - it saves up to 75% of energy.

With around 50 filling cycles, it not only satisfies waste reduction principles, but also represents a real saving for the manufacturer - a few cents per reused bottle compared to a brand new bottle.With their more wash-resistant bottles and water-soluble labels, deposit aficionados are brightening up the order books of long-ignored industrial washers.