Carrefour has launched its own deposit system in 150 Carrefour City stores in Paris, in partnership with Coca-Cola, Heineken and Citeo.
The move aims to encourage shoppers to reduce the environmental impact of packaging by encouraging reuse, the retailer added.
Carrefour City stores will offer five products in reusable glass packaging: Coca-Cola Regular (1L), Coca-Cola Without Sugar (1L); sparkling mineral water (1L); still mineral water (1L) and Gallia beer (33 cl).
Customers can now return these empty bottles to one of the 150 stores and collect their deposit (€0.20 for large bottles, €0.10 for small ones).
The bottles will be returned to the warehouse and sent to the factories of the industrial partners to be washed, refilled and put back on the shelves.
Expansion Plans
Carrefour aims to roll out the deposit system to new regions next year and equip 500 shops with the system by 2026.
A reused bottle saves up to 51% of water, 76% of CO2 and 79% of energy, according to ADEME.
Alexandre Bompard, chairperson and CEO of the Carrefour Group said, "Reducing the amount of packaging we use is a key expectation of our customers, a major environmental imperative, and a real challenge for our industry.
"By launching our deposit for reuse for reuse programme, we want to accelerate and enhance the commitments we have made as part of our Carrefour 2026 plan. With this plan, we want to prove that an economic model exists, and convince our partners to follow our lead."
Project Partners
As part of its 'A World Without Waste' strategy, Coca-Cola France has pledged to collect 100% of its containers from the market for recycling or reuse by 2030.
Mickaël Vinet, chairperson of Coca-Cola France, added, "In 2022, we became the first company to offer 100% of our brand portfolio in returnable glass in cafés, hotels and restaurants.
"For a number of years now, we have also been taking initiatives to develop reuse in distribution. Today, we are delighted that this collaboration will enable us to take a new step forward, enabling consumers to find our iconic brand in a reusable format on the shelves of Parisian Carrefour City stores"
Pascal Gilet, president of Heineken France, said the company was proud to participate in this initiative alongside other players in the sector.
Around 82% of the company's volumes in French cafes, hotels and restaurants are already packaged in reusable containers.
Gilet added, "Our packaging represents the main item of our emissions (40%), maximising their circularity is therefore necessary to achieve our objectives of decarbonisation."
