Looking for more info about our services?
Check out our list of frequently asked questions below for some quick answers. If you can’t find the answer, get in touch.
WHERE DO YOU DELIVER?
We deliver to all all SR and DH postcodes, and many NE postcode areas.
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Any orders places outside the areas covered by The Bottle Swap rounds will be charged, but will not be delivered and may not be refunded.
WHEN ARE THE ROUNDS IN MY AREA?
Delivery days changed as of September 2021. Some NE postcode areas, along with TS and DL postcode areas are no longer serviced.
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To be sure of your delivery date, please check your postcode area here
I DON'T WANT DELIVERIES LEFT ON MY DOORSTEP, WILL YOU LEAVE THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE?
That's no problem at all. Just leave us some delivery instructions at the checkout letting us know where to leave your items (and leave the empty bottles there for us to pick up too).
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If your front door is directly on the street, we will not be able to leave your delivery at your door so please make sure you leave a delivery instruction.
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If you'd rather we just knock on your door when we arrive then let us know.
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We can not accept any responsibility for the items once they have been delivered to your desired location.
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AM I SIGNING UP TO ANYTHING?
No, you are not signing up for any kind of subscription. We will only visit your house on the rounds when you have made an order to be delivered (unless you decide you won't be ordering from us again, in which case just let us know to collect any bottles you have on our next round).
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While there is no time limit on when we expect you to reorder, if we don't hear from you for 6 months, we will send a monthly reminder to return the bottles until either we receive a reply to say they are still in use, or until they are returned. This is to ensure any empties are kept in circulation.
IS THERE A MINIMUM ORDER?
We ask that you make a minimum order of £10 to make delivery economically and environmentally viable.
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HOW MUCH IS DELIVERY?
Delivery is £3 for orders under £20 and free for orders of £20 or more.
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DO I HAVE TO BUY LIQUID PRODUCTS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE ROUNDS?
No - you can buy any items from the shop and your order will be delivered on the next round in your area, even if you're not buying liquids.
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WHERE ARE YOU BASED?
We are based in Sunderland. At the moment we do not work from a site that is suitable for drop in visits from customers, though this may change in the future.
CAN I KEEP THE GLASS BOTTLES?
Afraid not. The sustainable, "closed loop supply" system relies on enough reusable bottles being kept in circulation, so it's important they (and their lids) are returned. We will remind you after 6 months of no contact.
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We do have a range of reusable recycled plastic and aluminium bottles available to buy, if you don't have spares to refill.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I BREAK/LOSE A GLASS BOTTLE?
We understand that accidents happen and we wont penalise you for this, so please don't worry.
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We keep track of where our bottles are as we need to ensure we have enough in circulation, so if you do happen to lose or break a bottle, please let us know as soon as possible so we are aware.
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However, please also be mindful that The Bottle Swap system can only work if the bottles are kept in circulation. All of the 250ml, 500ml and 1L glass bottles, and all 100ml glass bottles unless otherwise specified, are always property of The Bottle Swap. These bottles have a label on requesting they are returned and we trust people to return them in a timely fashion.
We reserve the right to cease service of any customers who repeatedly do not return their bottles.
WHAT HAPPENS IF FORGET TO LEAVE MY EMPTY BOTTLES OUT FOR COLLECTION?
Don't worry if you forget to leave your bottles out. We can pick them up the next time we deliver, or can often arrange to call past the next time we are in the area if you have empties that are in your way!
DO I HAVE TO DECANT THE PRODUCTS?
The bottles we supply are intended for decanting. If you choose not to decant the product we are not responsible for any accidents, so we strongly recommend decanting them from the glass into something more suitable.
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While single use plastic is a problem, reusing plastic bottles is sometimes the safer option- particularly in the bathroom when you might be picking bottles up with wet hands.
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We encourage you to reuse any plastic bottles you have at home for this, but also offer a selection of sturdy reusable plastic and aluminium bottles to purchase for future use.
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CAN'T YOU JUST REFILL THE PLASTIC BOTTLES I ALREADY HAVE?
There are a few reasons this isn't possible, not least because we have to take the bottles away to be refilled, which would pose a logistical nightmare when making sure every house got their own bottles back!
We also want to ensure quality control and strict hygiene standards are met, and to know there are always sufficient bottles in circulation to meet demand.
DOES YOUR BUSINESS CREATE PLASTIC WASTE?
We work hard to create as little waste as possible. As a preference, we operate on a "closed loop supply" with our suppliers, meaning they deliver the products in large containers and take them away to be reused when they're empty.
Where this isn't possible we ensure we reuse as many plastic containers as possible ourselves and any surplus are sent away to be repurposed.
We will only recycle materials as a last resort.
HOW DO I MAKE A RETURN?
Because of the nature of products we sell, we can not accept returns. If you have found a problem with any products you've received then please get in touch and we will fix the problem as soon as possible.