Rethinking glass: unveiling the sustainable potential beyond recycling

About 75% of glass waste in the Netherlands is collected separately for recycling. However, it appears that the energy-intensive production, limited recyclability and high weight of glass make this material less sustainable than is often assumed. Moreover, it is strange that we throw away packaging that can easily be reused. The Dutch Brown Return Bottle, the reusable beer bottle used by various Dutch breweries, shows that this can be done differently! Time to explore how we can accelerate the transition away from single-use glass bottles.

In recent months we have had discussions with parties throughout the chain, from juice and wine producers to bottlers, wholesalers, catering entrepreneurs and waste processors. With this we have not only mapped the value chain of this packaging flow, but also explored the interests and needs of various stakeholders and identified opportunities to facilitate this transition. We will soon share the findings from this research on our website .

During our research we discovered that wine bottles in particular constitute a significant part of our glass waste mountain. Every year, approximately 610 million glass wine bottles end up as waste in the Netherlands, more than three quarters of which come from catering companies. This significant amount of glass brings challenges, especially for the hospitality industry. Consider, for example, overflowing glass bins, limited space behind the bar and inefficient waste management. Although alternatives to the traditional glass bottle already exist, they often offer limited variety, are only available in excessively large volumes, and do not always provide the desired quality and consumer experience.

Are you a reporter with a passion for uncovering transformative solutions? We believe that innovative alternatives to single-use glass bottles are desperately needed. What's more, we believe they have the potential to alleviate other burdens on the hospitality industry as well.

Reach out to our Global Marketing Manager, Jesse Varwijk at jesse@enviu.org to to dive deeper into this pressing issue, gain insights from our experts, and explore the future of sustainable hospitality.