Greene King

Project Title: Reusable glass bottles in pubs 

Subject Area: Improved packaging and recycling / Sustainable production and working with the supply chain  

Project Title: Reusable glass bottles in pubs 

Objectives: Establish the feasibility of pubs collecting glass bottles and returning them for cleaning and reuse. 

Project Description: Partnering with reusable packaging innovators Again, 22 Greene King pubs in the North-West of England began a trial where empty glass bottles were collected behind the bar in specialised containers.  

Rather than going for recycling, the bottles are collected by the same vehicle making a new drinks delivery and delivered to a nearby ‘CleanCell’ operated by Again, which thoroughly cleans and disinfects the bottles.  

This would allow the bottles to be reused multiple times and reduce the amount of single-use glass bottles. 

The aim is to test and learn and to expand the trial further across the Greene King managed pub estate, with also looking at opportunities to use the scheme in the free-trade.

Outcomes: The trial started in August 2024 with 22 pubs supplied from a depot in Runcorn, and was subsequently rolled out further, with 68 pubs part of the trial by October and 114 pubs by August 2025. By the end of 2025, we are on track to achieve 311 pubs participating in the process. 

In June 2025 the first sports stadium trial began with the Utilita Bowl, Hampshire County Cricket’s ground, also starting a trial, supplied by Greene King’s pubs. 

The target is for around 700 Greene King pubs to be on the scheme by 2026.

Additional Information: As of September 2025, Greene King pubs have collected 1.25m glass bottles.  

This has seen an average of 2,300 bottles per pub collected every month. 

Damage rate is very low, with just 1.5% of bottles considered unsuitable for reuse.