Spain’s first reusable packaging collection machine is located at the Ametller Origen store at 47–53 Numància Street in Barcelona and is the result of a project that has benefited from the technical support of inèdit. Customers can automatically return glass containers from Letona milk and Kombucha Flax and receive a refund of €0.45 and €0.25 per return, respectively. For each glass bottle that is recovered and reused, the carbon footprint is reduced by between 88% and 90%, and water consumption by between 78% and 81%, compared to a single-use bottle. “The installation of the machine marks the culmination of years of work in which Ametller has consistently committed to reuse, a commitment that has made the company a pioneer in the retail sector,” says Carles Gasol, Director of Business Development at inèdit.

The project, entitled “Re-Retail: recovery of reusable packaging at the point of sale”, has received support from the Agència de Residus de Catalunya and aims to extend the useful life of glass packaging, reduce raw material consumption and waste generation, and promote the circular economy. With this initiative, the Ametller Origen Group takes a further step towards alignment with Spain’s Law 7/2022 on Waste and Contaminated Soils for a Circular Economy and with Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste. In addition, it strengthens industrial symbiosis with local suppliers and with circular service companies such as POTS, which is responsible for cleaning and sanitising the containers.

Since March 2022, the Ametller Origen Group, Letona and inèdit have been working on the implementation of a returnable glass packaging project in the food sector. inèdit took part in an initial pilot phase, supporting the partners in analysing the user journey and improving internal and external communication, as well as in the technical and environmental validation of the pilot. In this first phase, fifteen Ametller Origen stores sold Letona whole UHT milk in a one-litre returnable glass bottle. The average return rate achieved was 46%.

Previously, the Group and inèdit participated in reWINE, a wine bottle reuse project developed and implemented in Catalonia and funded by the European Commission’s LIFE+ programme, in which inèdit also took part.

Photo: Grup Ametller Origen.