Evian launches plastic-reducing refill device to UK market

Each refill 'bubble' contains 60% less plastic than a standard 1.5-litre bottle

Called ‘re-new’, the device consists of a rigid plastic base and a collapsible five-litre “bubble” container, which houses the product refill. The container is made of 100% recycled plastic and contains 60% less plastic by weight than a 1.5-litre evian bottle.

All ‘bubble’ containers are made using 100% recycled PET plastic (rPET) and customers will be encouraged to place them in with the rest of their recycling once used. evian is notably striving to deliver “full circularity” for packaging by 2025 and has defined the term as the delivery of packaging made using 100% recycled content that is, in turn, 100% recyclable.

Tesco is the first UK retailer to stock the ‘re-new’ device; it went on sale today (14 June) at 18 supermarkets and on the Tesco website. Other UK retailers are expected to begin stocking the product in the coming month. The RRP is £35 for the base unit  and £7.99 for two five-liter refill ‘bubble’ containers. To promote the system, evian will be installing units at the evian VIP suite at Wimbledon 2021.

The UK launch if re-new follows initial trials in 2019 and a roll-out in the French market after that. evian’s vice-president for marketing Shweta Harit said re-new “speaks to families who are increasingly environmentally mindful” and exemplifies the brand’s commitment to “evolving” the way it delivers water to customers. Aside from re-new, evian also offers refillable products to customers via TerraCycle’s Loop platform.

“Consumer demand for sustainable innovation continues to evolve and today’s announcement positions evian as an industry leader in cutting-edge sustainable design solutions, with an in-home water appliance encouraging consumers to rethink the way they drink mineral water in the home,” Harit said.

Harit was recently interviewed by edie’s senior reporter Sarah George, following evian’s launch of  a digital dashboard enabling consumers to track progress towards its goals on plastics. The overarching mission is now to reach 100% recycled content; ensure that all plastic packaging is recyclable and recycled in practice, and to remove plastic that is already polluting nature, putting it back into the recycling system. 

You can read that interview in full here.

Sarah George