A new recycling program spearheaded by Smirnoff will connect over 300 Chicago bars, restaurants, and businesses to recycle used and discarded glass bottles.
Those bottles will be processed by Smirnoff’s glass partners and then transported to the Smirnoff packaging plant in Plainfield, Ill., a Chicago suburb, to be filled and delivered to stores nationwide.
Smirnoff packaging plant in Plainfield, Ill.Diageo North America“Smirnoff is packaged and bottled in Plainfield, so it was important we started this movement right here in our backyard,” Ed Pilkington, chief marketing & innovation officer at Smirnoff parent company Diageo, says in the release. “When it comes to the environment, the way we can all help the planet is by doing our part to better our communities and Chicago is just the beginning for Smirnoff.”
Alongside DTG, Smirnoff will educate bartenders, back-of-house staff, employees, custodians, and others who deal directly with waste management to encourage them to adopt more sustainable practices.
“This partnership with Smirnoff helps support educational and relationship-building opportunities with local restaurants and bars so they can be at the forefront of glass recycling,” Scott DeFife, president of the Glass Packaging Institute, says in the release. “Encouraging these businesses to be influencers within the glass recycling process will have long-lasting effects, not only on our environment but also on the glass manufacturing and supply-chain process.”
Rose King, chief operating officer of GlassKing Recovery and Recycling, shared a similar sentiment, noting in the release, “this initiative is a good indicator of the need for systems to be put in place, not just in Chicago, but around the country to create a more circular economy for glass.”
The program supports Smirnoff and Diageo’s commitment to “reimagine packaging and become sustainable by design,” a key goal outlined in the company’s ten-year action plan, Society 2030: Spirit of Progress, the release says.
