Optimising beer bottle recycling & reuse

The challenge

Understanding the return journey of these bottles is key to reducing CapEx losses and transition to a circular economy. This is specifically pressing for countries with lacking infrastructure.

Complexity regarding the bottle deposit scheme

For its beer manufacturing process, the company needed to gain insights into the lifecycle of its returnable bottles, which spent significant time out of sight in trade, whether full or empty. Key questions included: how many bottles are returned? How long does the return process take? Where and why are bottles lost? Each market presented unique dynamics, requiring a tailored approach to understand and address the root causes of bottle loss and delays in their return. Additionally, limited data availability and varying interests among internal departments added to the complexity.

The solution

Standardised scan for returnable packaging

We developed a standardised ‘pressure cooker scan’ approach, analysing the entire circuition from brewery to consumer and back. This involved data analytics, observations and interviews to identify and prioritise the root causes of delays and losses. Solutions were crafted with a quantitative and qualitative business case and roadmap, addressing factors such as the efficiency of deposit systems, the optimisation of stock levels and the harmonisation of bottle sorting processes. Our approach included training employees to conduct ongoing scans, ensuring sustained improvements.

The result

Significant improvement in beer bottle reuse process

The implementation of our solutions significantly improved performance around bottle circulation and loss, such as a bottle loss reduction from 20% to 10%, and a halving of bottle circulation time. These improvements not only reduced financial expenditure for new bottles but also contributed to environmental sustainability by lowering CO₂ emissions and decreasing waste in local communities. The project highlighted the importance of addressing seemingly simple issues, such as incentivising returns, which had previously been overlooked.

Contact us today to discover how we can help your company achieve remarkable improvements in returnable packaging performance, financial gains and environmental impact.