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You can buy milk in reusable glass milk bottles. Usually it's a buck deposit on the glass bottle. Return it to the store and you get the deposit back. When the

You can buy milk in reusable glass milk bottles. Usually it's a buck deposit on the glass bottle. Return it to the store and you get the deposit back. When the milk company drops off a new shipment, they pick up crates of the empty glass bottles. It works well if you always remember to bring the bottles back.

djsumdog 9y ago
Works in much of Europe. In Germany, every store that sells glass has to take it back. You see bottle machines at all the Aldis with scanners. It's mostly automated, and you can tell how old a beer bottle is by how deep the rings are (where the machine rolls it around to scan it).
- BoorishBears 9y ago
  Just about everywhere in the US does this too (down to rolling the fan around, it’s actually a little fun to watch), but it’s not the same as what the parent is describing since those machines crush the glass to be recycled. I’m pretty sure the parent is describing reusing the bottles after reconditioning, which requires taking the bottles intact.
  - dfcowell 9y ago
    >and you can tell how old a beer bottle is by how deep the rings are (where the machine rolls it around to scan it). That's what the person you replied to is talking about. Here in Vietnam, like Germany, they refill used beer bottles. You can tell a new bottle from old based on the scuff marks the machinery leaves on the glass, which build up over time. These are the "rings" the GP is referring to.
    - BoorishBears 9y ago
      I assumed the machines were like the ones here, that seem to go through an almost identical process, but crush the bottle as a final step. I’ve had an experience with a poorly recycled bottle in another country that turned me off the idea...
  - wheels 9y ago
    In Germany the bottles are reused, not just recycled. Specifically beer, soda and juice bottle shapes and sizes are standardized for reuse.
    - WalterBright 9y ago
      Standardizing the shape is probably key to efficient reuse.

djsumdog 9y ago

Works in much of Europe. In Germany, every store that sells glass has to take it back. You see bottle machines at all the Aldis with scanners. It's mostly automated, and you can tell how old a beer bottle is by how deep the rings are (where the machine rolls it around to scan it).

BoorishBears 9y ago
Just about everywhere in the US does this too (down to rolling the fan around, it’s actually a little fun to watch), but it’s not the same as what the parent is describing since those machines crush the glass to be recycled. I’m pretty sure the parent is describing reusing the bottles after reconditioning, which requires taking the bottles intact.
- dfcowell 9y ago
  >and you can tell how old a beer bottle is by how deep the rings are (where the machine rolls it around to scan it). That's what the person you replied to is talking about. Here in Vietnam, like Germany, they refill used beer bottles. You can tell a new bottle from old based on the scuff marks the machinery leaves on the glass, which build up over time. These are the "rings" the GP is referring to.
  - BoorishBears 9y ago
    I assumed the machines were like the ones here, that seem to go through an almost identical process, but crush the bottle as a final step. I’ve had an experience with a poorly recycled bottle in another country that turned me off the idea...
- wheels 9y ago
  In Germany the bottles are reused, not just recycled. Specifically beer, soda and juice bottle shapes and sizes are standardized for reuse.
  - WalterBright 9y ago
    Standardizing the shape is probably key to efficient reuse.