The Réutiliz association moved up a gear in March by acquiring a semi-industrial bottle washer. Costing 92,000 euros, the Italian-made machine was co-financed by Ademe and Deets.
It will allow Réutiliz to ramp up its glass bottle collection activity., then handed over to the bottlers after washing. Its capacity of 500 bottles per hour allows the association to set upward targets. : 200,000 bottles collected and washed in 2024, against 80,000 in 2023 (i.e. 55 tonnes of glass which did not end up in recovery stations… or in nature). At the end of the decade, with an even more industrial tool, Réutiliz estimates that it is possible to locally reuse nearly half of the bottles that are emptied annually on the island.. The industrial washer took place in the association’s premises, in Piton Saint-Leu. The Réutiliz network currently consists of 34 collection points, where individuals can drop off bottles from several local businesses : Cilam, Covino, Isautier, craft breweries. Collection machines are also appearing in large areas. People who come to insert their empty bottles receive a voucher.
