Unilever Bangladesh launches refill machine to reduce plastic use 

Unilever Bangladesh Limited (UBL) has introduced refill machine in Bangladesh for dispensing liquid products to its consumers as part of its approach to reduce plastic use through technology and behaviour change. 

The refill machine allows anyone to refill Rin and Vim liquid at a discounted rate by bringing an empty container, for example, an airtight jar and old Rin or Vim liquid bottle, said a press release. 

Dr Abdul Hamid, director general, Department of Environment inaugurated the machine at Unimart Gulshan on Wednesday (22 June) as chief guest in the presence of Masud Iqbal Md Shameem, director (Environment clearance) Department of Environment, Zaved Akhtar, CEO and managing director of UBL and Murtoza Zaman, CEO of Unimart Limited, and other senior officials of Unilever Bangladesh. 

The programme was organised by Unilever Bangladesh in collaboration with Unimart Limited.   

This new machine is easy to operate where consumers can refill the bottle with very simple steps on a touchscreen and they can decide their own volume ranging from 200ml, 400ml, 500ml, 800ml, 1 litre, 1.5 litre and 2 litres.  This way, consumers will use the same bottle repeatedly and as a result, it will promote the practice of reusing plastic packaging. 

The machine is developed by Unilever's R&D team in collaboration with a global startup company, which has been checked and validated by the Metrology Division of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution.

Currently, Unilever has established two machines at Unimart, Gulshan 2 and Agora, Japan Garden City, Mohammadpur. 

Unilever Bangladesh Managing Director and CEO Zaved Akhtar said, "To tackle the root causes of plastic waste we need to think differently about packaging. We need bold innovations that challenge existing designs, materials and business models. Our priority is to fundamentally rethink our approach to packaging and pave the way for new solutions such as reusable and refillable formats."