How can you reduce beverage industry waste with innovative solutions?

One drinks company now only uses recycled plastic bottles and one uses carton boxes for water instead of bottles. One big way to change this is to only have water bottles or water dispensers during events instead of giving away water bottles.

Industry players, while can and should initiate sustainable packaging practices like 100% recyclable materials and produce using Recycled PET. However the public policy on recycling should be enabled 1st. If the local authorities start implementing public waste policies like recycling at the point of origin at residential places like condos and housing estates we will have better possible solutions for Recycled PET. The local authorities should use the resources that the industry players could bring to the circular economy and kick start the process.

I like what Sprite is trying out by doing away with labels on the bottles, and embossing it on the bottle itself. This removes the need for labelling material and also reduces the effort to recycle down the line as you don't have to separate the label from the bottle. Classic example of design thinking upfront driving improved recycling downstream!

En el caso de los envases reutilizables lo ideas es diseñarlos de materiales que no generen daños en la salud y que sean de un material durable o fácil de reciclar. En cuando a gaseosas por ejemplo en los 90s se utilizaban en gran manera las botellas retornables de vidrio y vemos como en los últimos años se esta retomando el uso de estos.

Before any businesses in the industry would dare to make a big enough change, please kickstart with education and awareness building first. All businesses are worried about backlash, complaints and boycotts from customers. To cut down the repercussions, initiate a program/campaign with small changes while holding your customers' hands. This way, they do not go into a shock when you introduce anything that they deem to be inconvenient, out-of-the-norm, or troublesome.

Typically, in any beverage company, rinsing and spraying account for 60-70% of water usage. A simple way to reduce this is to streamline the 6-7 stage process to 4-5 stages and use cold water instead of hot water. Another practice adopted by some industry leaders is to recycle this water and use it in their agricultural supply chain.

There are several waste streams in the beverage industry that can be upcycled by insects. All of this waste is actually precious ressources that can be used in their current format to create sustainable protein. Partnering with an insect company will benefit both parties as it helps the beverage company to reduce their waste in a sustainable way and the insect company has a reliable source of feed for the insects.

There are two types of circularity to consider: 1. Making packaging materials and bottles from recycled waste. 2. Ensuring the materials are fully recyclable. If a beverage company follows both of these practices, it can definitely enhance its reputation in a much better way. Further, they can also set up reverse vending machines in public places to promote recycling by consumers.

Companies need to engage their customers and consumers when looking for innovated solutions for their products. Not only is this an opportunity to get a new perspective of your product to those who use (or choose not to use) it, but it can also increase consumer interest and loyalty when their wants and requests could potentially improve the product.

Education and Awareness should also be considered. Educate consumers about the environmental impact of their beverage choices and promote responsible consumption habits to reduce waste generation.