A proposal to reintroduce refunds for glass beverage bottles in Bahrain has been tabled – three decades after the practice was abruptly halted.
Under the plan, beverage companies would be required to provide their products in glass containers alongside other packaging options such as plastic, metal and cartons.
Consumers would then be entitled to refunds for returning empty glass bottles, in a bid to encourage recycling and reduce pressure on Bahrain’s landfill site in Hafeera.
For many Bahrainis who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, the clink of glass soda bottles being stacked in grocery shops is a familiar memory.
Returning empties to claim a small refund was part of everyday life – a routine that made environmental sense long before “sustainability” became a buzzword.
That practice came to a sudden halt in the mid-1990s. No official explanation was ever given. Plastic bottles, cartons and metal cans quickly became the standard, and the glass bottle refund system – once a symbol of recycling efficiency – quietly faded into history.
Now, almost three decades later, MPs are calling for its comeback.
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