Marston’s and Reconomy Reconnect launch glass reuse scheme
A new partnership between waste management firm Reconomy Connect and pub operator Marston’s is seeking to change how the UK hospitality sector handles glass waste.
The initiative, described as the UK’s first scalable glass reuse system, has already processed around 102,000 bottles across ten Marston’s pubs since its launch in September 2024.
Of those, more than 22,000 bottles (22%) were successfully cleaned, quality-checked and sent back to drinks manufacturers for reuse, according to the Wolverhampton-based pub operator.
The ‘Making Reuse Simple’ project, developed with supply chain platform Again, is designed to create a circular system where glass bottles can be collected, cleaned, and reused multiple times, rather than melted down for recycling.
According to Reconomy Connect, the scheme has already led to a 43% reduction in glass-collection costs for pubs and could deliver a 60% lower carbon footprint compared with traditional recycling.
Plans to scale up
Following its initial success, the partners plan to expand the project to nearly 600 Marston’s pubs in 2026, potentially capturing 10.6 million bottles each year. Based on current performance, between 2.3 and 5.3 million bottles could be reused annually.
Similar schemes are now being explored by other major UK pub operators.
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David Gudgeon, head of external affairs at Reconomy Connect, said the early results had “exceeded expectations.”
“By moving from recycling to reuse, we’ve taken a clear step up the waste hierarchy keeping materials in circulation for longer and delivering far greater environmental and commercial value,” he said.
He added that scaling up the model could help businesses reduce both carbon emissions and costs associated with new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation.
Pub rollout
Alex Rollinson, energy and waste co-ordinator at Marston’s, said the project demonstrated that sustainability initiatives could work effectively in busy pub environments.
“The early results show what’s possible when we collaborate across the supply chain, and we’re excited to take this innovative scheme into hundreds more of our pubs next year,” he said.”
The hospitality sector produces significant amounts of packaging waste, with reusable packaging currently accounting for less than 2% of the UK market.
Reconomy Connect, which has worked with Marston’s for almost a decade and helped the group become the first of the “big five” pub companies to achieve zero landfill, said it plans to use data from the pilot to inform future packaging and procurement decisions.
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