We recently launched our new Refill Project as we continue to experiment and explore creative methods and materials for sharing Isle of Harris Gin.
Our glass bottle, gift packaging, and shipping boxes are already 100% recyclable, from the sealing tape right through to the tamperproof seals.
But, demand has grown from our customers to let them reuse and refill their bottles, so we began looking at different ideas and options...
The suggestion to return and reprocess bottles, wash and sanitise them, replace the labels and seals, and then ship them back across miles of land and sea again, made this popular proposal a very energy inefficient one.
Our team also looked at plastic pouches by post, but after many months of work to eliminate plastic from our business, and a couple of tough beach cleans, this felt like a backward step for us to take.
We eventually settled on using aluminium as our refill bottle material of choice, thanks to the advice from the team at UPM Raflatec, a world leader in sustainable labels and packaging materials.
So, here are 10 good reasons why we chose aluminium for our first refill bottle design…
1. Aluminium is the most common metal on earth and one of the most recycled packaging materials in use today.
2. 76.2% of aluminium packaging across Europe is recycled, one of the highest rates of any material.
3. Aluminium is infinitely recyclable and this is the cornerstone of aluminium sustainability.
4. Aluminium can be recycled and back in use in as little as 60 days.
5. Around 75% of all aluminium ever made is still in use today.
6. Recycling aluminium uses 95% less energy than creating new aluminium.
7. Our refill bottle is 9 times lighter than our glass bottle, requires less fuel to transport and helps reduce our carbon footprint.
8. Aluminium uses less energy during the recycling process than any other material.
9. Aluminium can even have a lower CO2 footprint when recycled than glass, plastic and even cardboard.
10. Each year recycling aluminium avoids over 90,000,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions globally.
The crucial key to aluminium’s success is returning the bottles to the recycling bin so it can be reused over and over again.
So, as we celebrate this incredible material, always remember to let it go, and get it back into the loop to live another day!
A big thank you to everyone who has subscribed to more sustainability with us so far, and if you'd like to learn more about topping up when the time is right then please go to our dedicated Refill Project Page to learn more...
www.harrisdistillery.com/refill