BENEFITS OF RETURNABLE PACKAGING

Spain is the second European country that throws the most plastic into the Mediterranean, with 126 tonnes a day, second only to the rubbish dumped by Turkey. This is one of the key findings of the report “A Plastic Trap” by the environmental organisation WWF.

Plastics make up 95% of the waste in the open sea, on the seabed and on beaches around the Mediterranean. The countries that dump the most plastic waste into the sea are: firstly Turkey with 144 tonnes per day, secondly Spain with 126 tonnes, Italy with 90 tonnes, Egypt with 77 tonnes and France with 66 tonnes per day.

In the case of Spain, a total of 4.6 million tonnes of plastic were used in 2016. This is the fourth largest European consumer, 28% of which is recycled. Spaniards use 10% of Europe’s single-use plastics, including 3.5 billion plastic beverage bottles.

Saint Hilari  are aware of this problem. That is why they offer their customers water in returnable packaging.

Reusable packaging: Concept

The concept of returnable packaging is not a new term. The term “reusable packaging” means that the cartons and bottles of the purchased product can be returned for reuse, thus recovering the deposit paid.

Water in returnable packaging is a more environmentally friendly form of consumption, because it encourages the reuse of packaging and therefore generates less waste. It is also a form of saving because the user does not have to pay for the glass bottle.

How does it work?

The use of reusable packaging is based on a system of loan or delivery of the containers in which the products are contained. This means that the purchaser pays a deposit for the containers when he/she first buys the container. 

Subsequently, with successive purchases of the same product, the consumer only has to pay for the food or drink in question that he or she wishes to buy, with the price of the container being deducted when the empty container from the previous purchase is returned.

Benefits of reusable packaging

• They are more environmentally friendly than ordinary plastics, generally use glass as a raw material, are easier to recycle than other materials and pollute less.
• Healthier for humans.
• They delay the demand for product recycling, thus prolonging the product’s shelf life.
• Glass containers can better maintain the taste of beverages and food.
• In the case of beer bottles or soft drink bottles, they can be drunk directly from the bottle, thus providing a more pleasant user experience.

This post is also available in: Español