Carrefour Poland introduces water in returnable glass bottles

31 / 07 / 2021

By Marwa Nassar - -

Carrefour Polska introduced water in returnable glass bottles for the first time in markets to encourage cutting plastic waste and save the planet.

Once again encourages its clients to easily take care of the environment together. After a very positive reception of the service of collecting returnable bottles without the need to present a receipt by consumers, the chain goes one step further.

As one of the first on the market, it introduced sparkling water in glass capped bottles with a capacity of 1 l. This is another concrete action of the chain in the fight to reduce plastic consumption.

The new product appeared on the shelves of Carrefour hypermarkets and supermarkets – Jurajska sparkling water in a larger glass container – perfect for summer heat. What distinguishes it on the market is the fact that both glass bottles and boxes for their transport are covered by the deposit system in the Carrefour chain. When purchasing for the first time, the customer pays a deposit for bottles and a case, and for subsequent purchases, they are replaced with full packaging without incurring any additional costs.

The main goal of Carrefour in initiating the campaign is the willingness to activate Poles in the field of pro-ecological activities and selective waste collection in order to recycle them, and to convince consumers how important the circular economy is for the protection of the natural environment.

Carrefour Poland has been taking consistent actions for the benefit of the environment for several years, and their important link is educating our clients on environmental issues.

“We encourage Poles to actively reduce the amount of generated glass waste and to develop a deposit system for returnable packaging, while providing them with specific solutions. Another natural step towards zero waste is the expansion of the range of glass packaging that can be replaced – for the benefit of the environment and the home budget” said Marek Lipka, Merchandising and Supply Chain Director, Executive Board Member in Carrefour Poland.

Polish consumers also struggled with the problem of having to have a receipt to recover the previously paid deposit. From April, customers of Carrefour Poland hyper- and supermarkets can return returnable glass bottles without the need to show a printout – they exchange them for e-vouchers for a refund of the full deposit for the packaging.
As the first results show – customers pay more attention to the marking of packaging and more willingly reach for products in returnable bottles. Carrefour Poland is the first chain to introduce such a solution.

“The Carrefour initiative is part of the long-term “STOP Waste” program, under which the chain has been implementing activities in Poland since 2013 to counteract all forms of wasting our planet’s resources and actively encourages its customers and business partners to join them. Our activities in this field have been noticed and distinguished in the FOB Good Practices Report for 2019, which additionally motivates us to take further initiatives in this area,” Lipka added.

More than a decade ago, Carrefour was a precursor of eco-practices on the retail market in Poland, introducing starch bags in its stores, 100% biodegradable and made of renewable raw materials.
Currently, customers of the chain can also purchase products by weight for their own packaging in all hyper- and supermarkets in Poland, and in selected Carrefour BIO stores – buy shampoos or bath lotions, supplementing their own reusable packaging in refillomats.

Carrefour is also successively reducing the weight of bottles and packaging for private label products. As part of the entire private label, the chain used 15 tons less plastic in 2020, thus protecting the environment and implementing Carrefour’s packaging policy.