Glass bottle return scheme offering refunds launches in French supermarkets
Trial will run for 18 months in north and west France with customers seeing 10c or 20c deposit returned for bringing back empty glass items
Carrefour, Intermarché, E.Leclerc, and Monoprix stores are taking part in the scheme as well smaller chains
horizonphoto / Shutterstock
A deposit scheme for glass drink bottles has been launched in supermarkets across several regions of France, aiming to encourage returns by offering a refund to those who do so.
The scheme covers several major supermarkets in Normandy, Pays de la Loire, Brittany, and Hauts-de-France and will initially run for 18 months.
Carrefour, Intermarché, E.Leclerc, and Monoprix stores are taking part as well as other smaller chains and several major producers.
People who return the glass items will receive between 10c and 20c (depending on the size of the product) in the form of store credit or added to their bank card.
This money will come from a higher initial base price for the items.
Currently, it is mostly drinks bottles that are eligible but in time several other food items that come in glass jars are expected to be included.
The glass packaging has been altered by participating brands to be ‘one-size fits all’ meaning they can be shared among producers to improve recycling efficiency.
Although not all stores were ready for the launch of the scheme on June 12, they will see the system implemented in the coming months.
The four regions cover around 16 million inhabitants and were chosen as residents exhibit higher than average levels of recycling compared to other parts of France.
How does the scheme work in practice?
Items eligible to be returned will have a purple sticker on them saying ‘Rapportez-moi’ (bring me back).
They can be deposited at self-service checkouts, or handed back to a cashier when paying for shopping with either case seeing the money returned to customers.
It does not matter which store you purchased the item at – the empty items can be deposited back at any participating supermarket.
Prices for returning the items may vary over time as the scheme looks to optimise returns – a too-low deposit risks people not bothering to return the items, but one that is too high may put people off purchasing them in the first place due to the initial outlay.
Once returned, bottles will be cleaned – although people are asked to wash them out before returning them.
If the scheme is successful, it may be rolled out more widely across France. Currently, smaller similar schemes are in place in Paris and the Île-de-France region.
For this to happen, however, more producers will need to work together on sharing glass packaging.
