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smol plastic bottles with text: stay in the loop

how to return your empty smol bottles.

16 Jun 2023

Picture the scene. You’ve been using smol’s products for a while now and you’ve collected a fair few empty smol bottles that you’d really LOVE to return to us so they can be refilled and reused.


Maybe World Refill Day has got you thinking… or maybe you’ve been a refill revolutionary for a while. Either way… you’re in luck. We’ve been busy working together on a plan to refill and reuse our packaging over and over, and we’re finally ready to share it with you!


We’ve teamed up with our friends at Again, who are experts in reusable packaging solutions. Using their CleanCell technology, and some super smart QR codes, we’ll be able to track just how much Co2 we’ll save with refills vs recycling. By taking responsibility for all the packaging across smol with smart solutions, our partnership with Again now means you can return your bottles to us… for free!

dishwasher friendly plastic bottles

FREE returns. 

You can now return your washing up liquid, fabric conditioner and stain gel empty bottles to us with our FREE RETURNS labels on At Last. And you don’t even need a printer!

step 1. pack your empty bottles

Pack up as many empty smol bottles as can fit in a box up to 50 x 50 x 60cm - or if you are keeping your box that your original bottles arrived in then please try to return at least 4 bottles at a time. The more empties that are sent back at once, the more sustainable our Rinse & Return scheme.

step 2. head over to At Last

Here’s a link www.start.atlast.co/smol/auth. Enter your email (the one linked to your smol account). At Last will email you a code that you can then enter on their site to confirm it’s you.

step 3. select smol washing up bottle returns 

Select smol washing up bottle returns and let us know how many empties you are wanting to return (we recommend a minimum of 4 at a time) as the largest size box you can send is 50 x 50 x 60cm.

step 4. check your nearest drop off point

Select your drop off point from a list of nearby Collect Plus sites and review that your return details are correct. At Last will email you a QR code.

step 5. send it over!

All done! Go home, put your feet up and have a cuppa. The team at Again will work their magic collecting, cleaning and redistributing your bottles with lots of lovely smol product inside!

If you think there's no excuse for single use, you can sign Again's petition here to make reusable packaging the norm through compulsory at-home return points in England.

again logo text: again, powering the future of packaging

FAQs

do I need a printer? 

No. smol’s returns are paperless and work by creating your own QR code (via the At Last app or webpage) which is emailed to you so you can present it at your nearest drop-off point.

how many empties can I return at once?

You can return as many as can fit in a box up to 50 x 50 x 60cm - or if you are keeping your box that your original bottles arrived in then please try to return at least 4 bottles at a time. The more empties are sent at once, the more sustainable our Rinse & Return scheme.

will my returned bottles be reused?

Most definitely (providing they are not damaged). The team at Again will clean, sterilise and refill your returned empties ready to go back out and live another life. 

do I have to use the box my bottles came in? 

Not at all. If you have another suitable pack (up to 50 x 50 x 60cm) to return your empties in, that's fine. The more empties you can return in one go the more sustainable the loop.

how much will it cost me?

It won’t cost you anything to create your FREE returns label to Rinse & Return your empty bottles. Just take your QR code and your packaged empties to your local Collect+ drop off point and they will do the rest.

where do I need to take my parcel?

Collect Plus is a nationwide service. You can find a drop off location local to you using the At Last app or website when you create your FREE return label. Most postcodes in the UK have several Collect+ drop off points within a few miles. These could be your local Co-Op, McColls, Budgens or Spar, as well as many independently owned convenience stores and newsagents and petrol stations. 

what happens to the bottles when I send them off?

smol’s empty bottles are sent back to Again from consumers, cleaned and redistributed from our CleanCell where the bottles are efficiently sorted, delabelled, cleaned, dried, visually inspected, palletised and shipped to smol for refill.

how are you able to track the CO2 of each refilled bottle?

Each smol bottle will have a unique identification code that will give us insights into: number of loops that bottle has been in circulation, live inventory visibility, understanding the return rates and generating live life cycle analysis’ so we know exactly how much CO2 and water has been saved compared to single use.

can’t your bottles already be recycled?

Smol’s washing up liquid, fabric conditioner and stain gel bottles are already made from 100% rPET. By moving to reuse, smol will further reduce its CO2 and water footprint and help reduce thousands of bottles destined for landfill. We’re so excited to further cut single-use packaging waste with Again.