Thousands of spirits bottles pass through Cayman’s hotels, bars and restaurants every week, with most used just once before ending up in landfill. With limited glass recycling infrastructure on-island, one local business is working to reduce reliance on single-use packaging as it supplies premium spirits to the hospitality industry.
Spirits distributor, ecoSPIRITS Cayman, specialises in a circular distribution system that replaces conventional single-use spirits bottles with refillable containers that rotate between its warehouse and hotels, bars and restaurants across Cayman, cutting down on packaging waste while reducing storage and handling requirements.
Part of a global network founded in Singapore, the company distributes a range of premium spirits, including sustainability-focused brands. Its growing list of local customers includes Kimpton Seafire, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, Marriott, Rum Point and the Agua Restaurant Group.
For operations manager Marlon Riera Tabares, the system has both practical and environmental advantages.
“What we’re doing is unique,” he said. “Nobody else on island is doing this kind of distribution in bulk like us and using a circular system.”
Rather than importing individual bottles, ecoSPIRITS receives its products in bulk containers and transfers them into 4.5-litre glass vessels known as ecoTOTEs at its local facility before delivering them to clients. Once empty, the ecoTOTEs are collected, sanitised, refilled and returned to circulation in a closed-loop system designed to reduce waste and emissions.
Drawing on nearly two decades of experience in luxury bars across Cuba and the Cayman Islands, Riera Tabares said he was drawn to the concept’s focus on cutting the use of single-use bottles without compromising the quality of premium spirits.
“In all those years, I saw how much glass was being thrown away every day,” he said. “At the end of the night, staff are carrying bags of empty bottles to the garbage. In Cayman that glass isn’t being recycled. It’s going to the landfill.”
The company distributes a range of premium spirits through its refill system, including brands with sustainability credentials. Among them is FAIR, a French producer of Fairtrade-certified spirits, whose products feature in cocktails such as the Classic Margarita and Oaxacan Old Fashioned served at Cocoloba at Kimpton Seafire.
The Kimpton has emerged as one of the strongest local adopters of the ecoSPIRITS system. At Cocoloba, cocktails including the Homegrown Margarita and Piña Colada that are made with ecoSPIRITS products are marked on the menu with a blue droplet symbol, while a QR code allows guests to learn more about the programme.
Kimpton Seafire beverage manager Jim Wrigley said the decision to partner with ecoSPIRITS was based on both practical considerations and a desire to reduce waste.
“The ecoSPIRITS technology reduces not just our carbon footprint on island, but also the production, shipping, filling and recycling associated with conventional spirits bottles,” he said.
Wrigley said the stackable refillable containers also require less storage space in a high-volume operation while allowing the hotel to source products from an expanding portfolio of premium and Fairtrade brands.
“ecoSPIRITS expanding portfolio of premium and super-premium sustainable, B Corp, Fairtrade and Caribbean spirits and liqueurs means we can work with some of the highest-quality ingredients for our guests while still ensuring sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint in our precious and delicately balanced environment,” Wrigley said.
Bottom: After sterilisation, the ecoTOTEs are refilled with spirits using a precision filling system. – Photos: Daphne Ewing-Chow
According to ecoSPIRITS, each refill cycle replaces six single-use glass bottles, while a single ecoTOTE can eliminate up to 1,000 bottles over its lifetime. The company says the system reduces packaging waste by 95% and lowers carbon emissions associated with each bottle by around 550 grams.
The company also ties its distribution model to an ocean conservation initiative under which one kilogram of marine waste is recovered for every ecoTOTE cycle. Participating venues can track the impact through QR codes on their menus.
Despite growing adoption, Riera Tabares said the biggest local challenge remains convincing operators to change unsustainable practices that have long-defined the industry.
“There is a cultural component,” he said. “A lot of people say, ‘I’ve been doing it this way for 20 years. Why would I change?'”
He believes that attitude will gradually shift as more international brands and hospitality operators adopt reusable distribution systems and as local businesses look for ways to reduce waste without compromising operations.
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