Reusable bottle

Reusable bottles are built for repeated use. After return they are sorted, cleaned in the filling plant, inspected and refilled. A reusable glass bottle can go through many dozens of cycles before being retired; plastic reusable bottles have shorter cycles.

Compared with one-way packaging, reuse saves material but depends on working returns and regional distances. The bottles carry a deposit whose amount varies by type. Reusable bottles can often be recognised by thick walls, scuff marks on the base and a note about the reusable system on the label or bottle.