One Stop and Veolia collaborate for milk bottle recycling

In a collaborative effort towards sustainability, One Stop, a convenience retail chain, has joined forces with global resource management company Veolia to establish a closed loop recycling program. Building on a successful trial earlier this year, the partnership aims to recycle more than 380,000 milk bottles annually from One Stop's stores.

The initiative involves collecting Own Label milk bottles from relevant vending machines and staff refreshments at the stores. Veolia takes charge of this process, picking up the bottles from One Stop's distribution centres on a weekly basis. The journey of recycling begins when the bottles arrive at Veolia's Dagenham Plastic Facility.

At the facility, the milk bottles undergo a comprehensive recycling process. They are thoroughly washed, shredded, and transformed into pellets, which are then repurposed to create new milk bottles. This closed loop system demonstrates the commitment of both organisations to reducing plastic waste and promoting circular economy principles.

As part of its sustainability drive, One Stop has also made additional strides, replacing the traditional green hard-to-recycle bottle tops on their British semi-skimmed standard milk with clear recyclable lids. This forward-looking approach reflects One Stop's dedication to making meaningful contributions to environmental conservation.

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."