Seven Oregon breweries will be selling beer in reusable bottles.

This US State Initiates the First Modern Refillable Glass Bottle System

During the early times, when you purchase a beer or soda from a local merchant, refillable bottles were the only option. But with the invention of cans made of steel, it began to change. The usage of the refillable glass had decreased. To get back to business and continue to practice recycling, a US state had a plan on reviving it.

Today, Oregon is getting back to the basics by revitalizing the use of refillable beer bottles.

Reusable beer bottles for a new statewide program.

There are many uses of a glass bottle and mainly for drinking like beer, milk, juices and more. But after usage, we dispose of it although some recycle, not all bottles are reused anyway. 

The World Counts reported, “The world’s beer and soda consumption use about 200 billion aluminum cans every year. This is 6,700 cans every second — enough to go around the planet every 17 hours.” While recycling is an important piece of the puzzle, a large percentage of cans and bottles are tossed into the landfill. Those that do make it to the recycling plant require massive amounts of water and energy to recycle into clean, usable material.

To help address this problem and promote a good cause, Oregon recently initiated a statewide recycling program. Instead of breaking down materials to create something new, they’ve gone old school by bringing back refillable bottles.

The next time you’re shopping for beer in Oregon, take a close look at the bottle.

The process works the same as any other bottle deposit system. The consumer pays a deposit up front when buying a beverage. Upon returning the empty container, they receive the deposit back. And with this, consumers will be obliged to return it to get their money back.

These refillable bottles have a unique barcode and marked with a “refillable” stamp. It can be reused up to 40 times.

Oregon has been poised to reintroduce refillable bottles into the market because of an existing statewide program that collects and recycles bottles and cans.

Oregon Introduces Refillable Bottles.

The real measure of the program’s success will come with the deposit return rates. If people don’t return the bottles, the system won’t work. 

And this is a struggle that Double Mountain Brewery founder Matt Swihart knows all too well as the original provider of refillable bottles within the Oregon brewing industry. With an initial return rate of only 15-20 percent, he’s hoping an organized state system will help facilitate his goals. “Anything we get back and clean, saves us money down the road, and of course is a more responsible environmental package,” he said.

Refillable Bottle Launch - Widmer Brothers Brewing

Currently, seven breweries in Oregon have stepped up to the program. Widmer Brothers Brewing is one such optimistic leader of change. It has always been transparent in its efforts to maintain sustainability wherever possible in the beer-making process.

Buoy Beer, Double Mountain, GoodLife, Gigantic, Wild Ride and Rock Bottom breweries have also signed on with hopes of many others joining as the program gains credibility. Although breweries are in the spotlight right now, there is hope that the soda industry will also jump on the refillable bottle bandwagon. 

Oregon’s refillable bottles.

Let's hope that everyone will cooperate and big companies like milk and soda will jump in and join. Who knows — maybe it’s just a few short years before we make the full circle back to all-refillable bottles.

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”

- Robert Swan