The Beer Store (Canada) – Gowtham Ramachandran – 2017

Goals

The Beer Store, a Canadian retailer of beer and other malt beverages, enlisted EDF Climate Corps fellow Gowtham Ramachandran to determine the financial and environmental impact of reusing what currently are non-refillable bottles, rather than immediately recycling them to high end use. The company currently reuses refillable beer bottles an average of 15 times before recycling, while other bottles are used just once before they are crushed to make new bottles and other glass products. The Beer Store has not yet fully assessed the financial and environmental impact of reusing other non-refillable bottles, or more fully scoped out the capabilities needed to successfully implement this system.

Solutions

Compared to recycling a bottle, Ramachandran’s calculations indicate that reusing a bottle diverted 22% more tons from entering the landfill, decreased greenhouse gas emissions by 293%, reduced overall energy consumption by 359%, and lowered bottle costs by 83%.

Potential Impact

Over the next ten years, these projects could help Forest City save $1,007,810.92 in operating costs. Annually, they could save 603,196.83 kilowatt hours of electricity and reduce 467.25 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, bringing the company one step closer to meeting its sustainability goals.