Bottle to bottle: One Stop and Veolia achieve closed loop recycling

Following a successful trial earlier this year, One Stop has partnered with global resource management company, Veolia with the aim of recycling over 380,000 milk bottles per year from their stores.

Own Label milk bottles from the stores’ relevant vending machines and staff refreshments are collected from One Stop’s distribution centres by Veolia on a weekly basis and then the recycling begins.

Veolia takes the milk bottles to its Dagenham Plastic Facility where they begin their recycling journey. The bottles are washed, shredded and turned into pellets which can then be blown back into milk bottles and ready to use again!

Simon Futcher, Commercial Business Development Director at Veolia said: “Veolia is delighted to be working closely with One Stop to recycle their milk bottles, ensuring we reduce their carbon impact on the environment.

“This partnership aligns with Veolia’s purpose of ecological transformation and demonstrates a closed loop recycling solution. Turning used milk bottles into fresh ones replaces the need for raw materials and saves 67% of carbon emissions at the same time.”

Amriene Kalsi, Sustainability Manager at One Stop said: “We’re so pleased to be working with Veolia on this new initiative. It’s certainly another key step towards our goal of increasing recycling within our own operations, contributing to our target of meeting net zero by 2050.”

The convenience retailer, which is transforming through its sustainable journey, has also recently replaced its green hard-to-recycle bottle tops on their British semi-skimmed standard milk with clear recyclable lids.