The reWINE pilot test is completed
After 18 months, the pilot test has ended to demonstrate the feasibility of a sustainable collection, cleaning and reuse system of wine bottles from Catalonia's wine industry.
The pilot test involved 7 Catalan wineries - the Cooperativa Falset Marçà, Cellers Torres, Albet i Noya, La Vinyeta, Talcomraja, Vins Pravi and Mas Argany -, more than 30 stores, 50 restaurants and 3 landfills of the Consortium for the Management of Waste from the Vallès Oriental. All participants can be seen on the following map.
The test started in September 2018 with the aim of recovering 100,000 bottles of wine through different systems. On the one hand, bottles were collected through the participating restaurants. When the bottles of reWINE wines were consumed, the restaurants kept them and the distributor collected them by reverse logistics and stored them. When the volume of bottles collected was sufficient for their transport, the empty bottles were transported to the washing plant. There, the bottles were cleaned and returned to the wineries to begin the cycle again.
On the other hand, the pilot test has also incorporated shops. For example, several stores of Veritas and Ametller Origen supermarkets took part, paying 10 cents to consumers who returned a bottle with the reWINE label. In El Vallès, four Caprabo establishments also took part, selling bottles of the project's wines and consumers had to return them to landfills and enter a raffle to gain a wine experience.
Once the test is completed, now is the time to do an environmental and economic assessment of the wine bottle collection and washing systems that have been tested and evaluate which process is most favorable for its implementation. The final results will be announced in October 2020.