More than 890 billion plastic bottles are produced every year, and more than 80 percent of these are not recycled, ending up in landfill or the ocean.
In total, more than half of plastics ever made have been made since the year 2000, and their production is rapidly picking up pace.
Sydney-based startup Refilled is on a mission to eliminate single-use plastic bottle wastage through an innovative smart drinks dispenser that can be used in offices, gyms and schools.
Refiller is a BYO bottle smart drinks dispenser that uses the plumbed-in water on-site along with drinks flavouring developed in-house by the company to offer a range of drinks through the one system.
The use of existing water sources means that the machines weigh less than 4 percent what they would if the water was pre-provided, greatly reducing the cost of transportation.
Refilled has secured two rounds of venture capital funding, with Malt Ventures leading the most recent one. It has since been installed at the offices of tech giants including Google and Canva, and has helped to avoid the use of more than 140,000 plastic bottles.
Refilled’s Refiller is a finalist in the InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence in Food and AgriTech. You can secure tickets to the black-tie gala event here.
Refilled founder Ryan Nelson first came up with the idea for the smart drinks dispenser during a visit to the gym at the height of the Covid pandemic.
Thirsty after a workout, Mr Nelson discovered the water bubbler was out of order, leading him to investigate the vending machines on offer. But all he saw was bottled waters, soft drinks, sports drinks and protein shakes, all in plastic bottles.
After buying a drink and quickly drinking it, the plastic bottle was then thrown out.
Mr Nelson went straight home and started working on what would become the Refiller.
The first version of the machine was developed in Mr Nelson’s garage using mostly off-the-shelf components and with the help of a software developer friend.
This proof-of-concept was validated at the University of Technology Sydney, helping Mr Nelson to secure a $600,000 seed round to further design the machine and manufacture 10 units.
Refilled now has a goal to be the world’s most sustainable beverage company and to help eliminate 100 million single-use plastic bottles by 2030.
Each Refiller machine is fitted with a unique QR code that allows users of it to track their environmental impact and see how many bottles they have helped to save, something which can also be displayed on a localised leaderboard.
Looking for brand exposure in front of Australia’s tech ecosystem? Purchase a table of 10 for the InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence and have your logo displayed on screens across the venue and in the event programme as a table sponsor.
The InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence are supported by: Australian Computer Society, Investment NSW, Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Technology Council of Australia, TechnologyOne, National Artificial Intelligence Centre, CSIRO’s ON Innovation Program, Reason Group, Q-CTRL, University of New South Wales, and IP Australia.
Protecting your great ideas with intellectual property (IP) rights can lead to lasting benefits for your growing business. IP refers to creations of the mind, such as a brand, logo, invention, design or artistic work. Head to the IP Australia website to find out more about IP, and how it might help your business.
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.