It was common until the 1970s, before almost disappearing in the 1990s. Thirty years later, the deposit of glass bottles is making a comeback. Taking into account the ecological impact, scarcity of raw materials and by domino effect, rising production costs: the planets seem to be aligned. Born from the grouping of ten operators, the association France Deposit was presented in Montpellier at the end of January 2023 during the Millésime bio fair. Its ambition: to federate the sector and promote the reuse of glass bottles throughout France.
In 2017, Clémence Richeux created “My bottle is called reviens”, whose head office, in Drôme, now hosts that of France Consigne. “At the start, we had to convince producers, consumers and stores. Since Covid-19 and the Ukrainian crisis, there has been a shortage of white glass which has caused costs to skyrocket. A new bottle bought for 28 cents costs 52 cents a year later, she explains. Not only are we becoming competitive in terms of price, but this makes it possible to guarantee local supply and therefore to secure it. Which was a big problem during the health crisis. »
Behind standardization, a technical process
The reuse of the same bottle everywhere in France necessarily involves its standardization. The labels, the glue have been researched. And the bottles themselves, which had to be able, for example, to undergo the thermal shock during the bottling of fruit juices or to be strong enough to undergo the fermentation of beer. All without affecting the taste. “An uncomplicated approach, with a complex technical process”, explains Thomas Lemasle, co-founder d’Oe, a start-up from Lyon specializing in the sale of organic wines, one of France Consigne’s customers: “Each element of the packaging had to be inspected so as not to hinder the reuse of the bottle. »
According to’Ademe, the reuse of a bottle makes it possible to drastically reduce energy consumption (around 79%) of CO2 (76%) and water (51%) compared to the production of a new bottle. “France consigne aims to certify producers nationally. We accompany the producer on his bottle format, his change of label, we look at where it is distributed, continues Clémence Richeux. If he meets the criteria, he is offered a reemployability certificate. This means that all national projects can collect it, wash it locally and reinject it into the local circuit, so that it can be resold to local producers. »
10% of the number of reusable glass bottles in 2027
In 2022, 1.4 million glass bottles were reused in France. A drop in the ocean of wasted containers. If 77.9% of glass is recycled in France, according to Ademe, only part of this material can actually be recycled, depending on its color in particular. But the drop of water is expanding with 400 partner producers of France consigne, 700 collection points in France and five washing centers (in 2023).
The law Agec (anti-waste for a circular economy) by 2020, sets the number of reusable containers at 10% by 2027, for producers. It is still necessary to encourage consumers to enter the loop. Because without them, no return of bottles. “We totally found ourselves in this approach in accordance with our ambitions”, underlines Kamel Ouazani, manager of the Biocoop store in Romans-sur-Isère. The channel is a partner in the project. In this store, the return rate reached 80%. “At home, Manon and Corinne, who are in charge of the dry department, took on the project head-on. We put up posters in the store and explained to customers the importance of participating in this virtuous circle”.
To increase the number of collection points, France Consigne is carrying out tests with an essential target, large and medium-sized distribution. Integrating it into the project is one of the two major challenges for the sector. The other being the establishment of incentives for customers to increase the rate of return. In particular by the establishment of a monetary deposit. “Some projects put it in place, others don’t,” continues Clémence Richeux. The monetary deposit is not the only lever to explore. In my opinion, if it is put in place, it must be at the national level and enshrined in law. “Because behind the monetary deposit, there is a higher purchase cost for the consumer…