It is by far the most energy efficient way of packaging beer, it tastes better, and there is no BPA.
Seven breweries in Oregon are now offering beer in returnable, refillable bottles. We have always promoted this on TreeHugger; as Joel Schoening of the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative tells Cassandra Profita of Earthfix, “Every time that bottle gets reused, you’re cutting the carbon footprint of that bottle in half. It’s the most sustainable choice in the beer aisle.”
Research in Ontario, Canada, shows that it is even higher than that. In fact, once a refillable system really gets going, 98 percent of the bottles get returned. It uses 93% less energy than making a new container. And the washing water? it takes between " 47 percent and 82 percent less water than is needed to manufacture new one-way bottles for the delivery of the same amount of beverage."
This is terrific news.
Lloyd Alter with info from Heather Rogers/CC BY 2.0
