Abel & Cole’s reusable plastic milk bottle wins Sustainability Initiative of the Year

Winner: Abel & Cole

Abel & Cole has delivered an intervention with the potential to deliver a “massive impact” in the battle against packaging waste, said our judges, of the company’s rollout of the UK’s first reusable, eco-friendly and refillable plastic milk bottle.

In its first six months, the latest addition to the delivery service’s Club Zero range has already convinced many customers to switch from single-use.

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And the fact that the one-litre PP bottle can be reused up to 16 times makes Abel & Cole’s estimate that it could cut out 23 tonnes of plastic as take-up grows “a conservative one”, added judges.

“There’s a major opportunity here to demonstrate that plastic isn’t always evil and that by engaging reuse we can start to solve its problems,” they added. “In taking this on, Abel & Cole is creating a new industry standard.” 

Shortlisted:

• Abel & Cole - Club Zero Refillable Milk
• Arla Foods - Customer Sustainability Programme
• Central Co-op - Green energy self-sufficiency
• DDRS Alliance - Brecon Digital DRS Trial
• Dentek - Making the dental accessories category more sustainable
• Greenvale - Integrated intervention for sustainable potato production
• When in Rome Wine - Paper wine bottles