ABSTRACT
This case study1 investigates the ecological and economic reduction of water, energy, and chemicals consumption in washing returnable bottles by the German mediumsized fruit-beverage producer Amecke Fruchtsaft in Menden, for which the company received an environmental award in 1993. It is a case of successful substantive environmental management because this optimization of the cleansing process led to considerable reduction in input and in waste products relating to water, energy, and chemical resources; it was probably the most advanced system in the world in 1992. In addition, a diffusion process has started with the newly-developed bottle-washing machinery spreading to other fruit-beverage producers, and a move towards further environmental improvements in the company has been triggered by this input minimization process.
