Returnable glass bottles for drinks (e.g. Milk, Beer, Mineral Water) used to be the norm in most countries until 20 years ago. But, as production got more centralised and people didn't want the extra work of separating and cleaning the bottles, returnables are now rare in many countries.

My company still uses returnable bottles but most of our retail customers are asking for them to be changed to one trip.

Has anyone measured the overall carbon footprint of returnables versus one trip bottles? This needs to take account of: - returnable bottles are typically 50% heavier than one trip so use more energy in original production of the glass - returnables typically make 8-15 trips in their lifetime - returnables need to be washed before refilling, usually with caustic soda.

If you can help, please post in this forum thread.