Industry insights

How We Keep Our Refillable Water Bottles Out Of Landfill

2 min read

By Matt Stimpson |  Published

Recycling plays a crucial role in reducing the global need to rely on the earth’s diminishing natural resources. As a responsible and environmentally-conscious company, Thirsty Work is aware of the impact we may have on our surroundings. And only by taking bold steps to reduce our impact can we make a difference. So another part of our eco-friendly practices is to ensure all our refillable water bottles are recycled without ever ending up in landfills.

Refundable bottle deposits

Many Thirsty Work customers across the country choose our mains fed water coolers, accounting for around ⅔ of our coolers that are in use at any one time. But our bottled water coolers are still a popular way for businesses to keep staff and visitors hydrated with pure-filtered, natural spring water with either of our 18.9 or 13-litre water bottles.

With a bottled water cooler’s ability to be positioned anywhere with a high footfall, each one offers convenience without the restrictions of needing mains water plumbing. But depending on the size of your business, the number of water bottles that get used can escalate pretty quickly. And being a sizable bottle, the storage of any empties can become an issue.

To save space, the easy option for businesses would be to discard any empty bottles into industrial bins and see them carted off to landfills. To prevent exactly this situation, some time ago we introduced our refundable bottle deposit scheme to ensure every one of our bottles, is resued, refilled, or recycled.

Maximum bottle lifecycle

With any bottled water cooler customer, as part of the service and maintenance package, we add a refundable bottle deposit charge – small enough to be reasonable, but large enough to avoid it being ‘written off’ – with the sole purpose of encouraging every customer to return their empty bottles back to us for sterilisation and refilling.

With each bottle made from polypropylene (PP) plastic, it means they’re hardwearing, long-lasting, and, most importantly, safe for long-term use of drinking water. And together with our robust labelling – we only need to use one label for the life of the bottle – we make the best use of each bottle over the longest period of time possible.

But when they do reach the end of their lifecycle or become overly damaged or cracked, each one gets crushed and baled, before being ground down into reusable bags and sent to manufacturers of a whole range of items including, mixing bowls, spatulas, and cutting boards, shovels and watering cans, oil funnels, ice scrapers, storage bins, and shipping pallets. And alongside our commitment to issuing recyclable, compostable, and biodegradable paper cups as standard, our bottle deposit scheme really does make a difference.

Enjoy FREE bottle refills with Thirsty Work

With every effort going into reusing, refilling, and recycling every one of our bottles, we’re maximising the life and use of each one while minimising our share of landfill. And with free water bottle refills available as part of your service and maintenance contract with us, it’s a win-win for you and us.

To find out more about our refundable bottle deposit scheme, get your free quote, or to start the no-obligation free, 10-day trial of your bottled water cooler, contact our customer service team today on 01392 877 172 or email us at hello@thirstywork.com.