Plastic is in everything nowadays. It has infiltrated our food, the water we drink, and dirtied our pristine seas. We desperately need to reduce the amount of plastic used on a day-to-day basis.

Refusing single-use plastic is the only way we can seriously reduce plastic waste.

One of Malta’s leading supermarkets, PAVI-PAMA, has found a way how to reduce 1.7 million single-use plastic bottles every year. While still offering free water when spending a certain amount, this supermarket has introduced a 12-litre returnable container to provide customers with a convenient, environmentally friendly alternative.

“Customers will still get their 12 litres of water and can still choose in which container they prefer their free water, nonetheless we advise our customers to do their small part in our endeavour towards a more sustainable environment” Mr Charles Borg, Chief Executive at PG Group said. 

This small part is not as small when considering that this initiative alone, calculated on a rather conservative conversion rate, will pull out from the market 1.7 million single-use bottles per year; the equivalent of 72 tonnes of single-use plastic.

This initiative is a very easy system as it involves only the collection of a free full container when spending a certain amount, whenever an empty one is returned. PAVI-PAMA has also ensured that customers are not charged a deposit when the container is taken the first time but simply blocks 500 loyalty points from a customer’s loyalty account, which are then released as soon as an empty container is returned. Moreover, to further sustain this initiative, PAVI-PAMA will be giving away 5-litre reusable containers specifically designed to fit in a refrigerator.

The 12-litre returnable container, however, for easier use PAVI-PAMA has also made available rechargeable water pumps which can be bought at a subsidised price.

The time has come for all of us to take a good hard look at what we’re using and how we are affecting the planet and what we can do to stop it. Refusing single-use plastic water bottles will help save at least 72 tonnes of plastic from ending up in our oceans, our clothes and our food. Let’s all do our bit.

Tag everyone you know!