In places where recycling infrastructure is limited, packaging often ends up in landfill or the environment. In addition, lower-income consumers face a ‘poverty tax’ because they often buy products in smaller, more affordable formats and end up paying up to 40% more for products per gramme.

In 2012, Algramo (meaning “by the gramme”) launched refill system in Chile that allows customers to purchase the quantity of products they need—everything from lentils to detergents—at ‘bulk’ prices. They use reusable containers rather than single-use plastic packaging, making the sustainable option more affordable, equitable, and convenient. Algramo also collects empty packaging containers, which are subsequently cleaned and refilled for delivery back to the stores, and at the end of their life these containers are recycled.

The service operates in over 2,000 family-owned stores that reach over 325,000 end-customers in Santiago, and now has a mobile option using electric tricycles to offer home refill services via an app.

Algramo’s refill-on-the-go system in Santiago has proven successful even during the COVID-19 lockdown: sales increased by 356% between April and June 2020. After their success in Chile, Algramo is working with Walmart, Unilever, Nestlé’s Purina, and other companies to expand their services and scale up. At the international level, they already have pilot programs in the US and Indonesia, and are looking to enter new markets, including Mexico and the UK. In New York City, Algramo has partnered with Colgate-Palmolive and Clorox on refill vending machines.

During their one-year pilot in partnership with Unilever, some of Algramo’s customers refilled their detergent bottles 15 times, with each refill eliminating the need for an HDPE bottle and its associated impacts on biodiversity, whilst keeping the original refillable bottle in use and out of the environment.

Photo by Laura Mitulla on Unsplash