Olu Tropical Water introduces glass crushing unit

Olu Tropical Water, Sri Lanka’s premiere choice of natural mineral water, discontinued its PET packaged products in January 2019, in a bold environmental effort.

Almost two years into the transition from PET to glass, the brand knew there was more to be done. Indeed, the choice of packaging was eco-friendly but in order for it to be truly sustainable, the bottle needed to be used repeatedly and/or be stripped to its base material in order to be reformed.

“We found that many consumers opted to reuse their bottles at home, work and even in their cars, which was wonderful to see. However, there was much deliberation on how we could correctly address the matter of recycling glass,” explained Liquid Island (Pvt.) Ltd General Manager Shalindri Malawana.

“In search of a solution, we came upon a unit that could crush a glass bottle in under two seconds, returning it to its purest form – sand.”

This glass crushing unit was exactly what the brand had been in search of and had it shipped over almost immediately. The unit was unveiled during the Environment and Conservation Week, held at One Galle Face, in collaboration with long-standing event partner Colombo Fashion Week. Speakers and attendees of the various talks held during this week were able to experience the circularity journey of the glass bottle first hand.

“The sand created is fine to the touch and safe enough to be returned to beaches or river fronts. The applications of this sand are quite versatile – from arts and crafts to road repair and structural builds,” said Malawana.

Meet the Olu Tropical Water team with your glass bottles at Spar, Thalawathugoda, every Saturday, during the month of October, to witness the ‘Circularity Journey of the glass bottle’. Be informed of where the crusher will be next via its Instagram page @olu_water or reach out via email to Shalindri@liquidisland.com.