The Normandy region, in partnership with three other regions in the northwest of France, has launched an ambitious experiment on the reuse of glass bottles.
From May 2025, this project will affect 16 million French people, who will be able to participate in a dedicated deposit network.
The objective?
Reuse 10% of packaging by 2027, in accordance with the requirements of the Agec law on the circular economy, adopted in February 2020.
But will all glass bottles be reusable?
Unfortunately, no.
Not all bottles of our usual products can be reused. In particular because not all types of glass have the same thickness, and therefore the same resistance to repeated washing.
Indeed, it is the friction of the bottles against each other, during cleaning cycles, that weakens them.
And despite its history with the glass deposit, France currently has little experience in modern reuse practices. The few washing plants present in the territory are not all equipped to handle the different bottle shapes (diameters, heights, etc.).
To meet these challenges, an initial phase of testing has been launched with the support of Citéo, which, in collaboration with glassmakers O-I and Verallia, has developed two models of reusable bottles called “R-coeur”.
However, in the face of new legislation encouraging companies to increase their share of reusable containers, the question arises:
Will all brands end up turning only to these two standardized models?
See more on the Univerre website
