Refillable bottles from Coca-Cola

This seems as if it’s one to watch.

Coca-Cola European Partners has introduced refillable bottles for students and staff at the University of Reading in England, so they can select from over 100 drinks options using Freestyle dispense machines.

The 591ml bottles, which cost £9.95 including 2 free refills, contain a microchip that allows for pre-payment of £12.00 for 10 servings or £39.95 for unlimited use during an academic term.

The University calculated that it disposed of 650,000 plastic bottles last year. 1,500 refillable bottles have been purchased so far.

Filtered water is available free from the vending machines, whatever bottle people bring.

The project is designed not only to encourage healthier choices and reduce waste, it will also cut emissions from deliveries.

Of course, the initial experiments were made in the United States. This is the first international trial.