Selected success stories submitted by respondents, illustrating how reuse and bulk (packaging-free) systems operate on the ground. Filter by industry, then by activity.
E-bike maker Riese & Müller replaced single-use cardboard packaging with the BikeBox, a foldable, fully reusable transport case developed together with Circular Logistics' SaaS reuse-logistics platform. Each box is designed to withstand at least 30 reuse cycles, and the platform tracks return rates, cleaning schedules and stock across the dealer network in real time. Following a pilot with more than 90 specialist retailers, the BikeBox became the standard shipping format for daily dealer orders, now used by over 1,000 retailers across Europe. Riese & Müller reports the switch cuts transport-packaging emissions by around 80%, avoiding an estimated 880 tonnes of cardboard waste per year.
BOXO runs a shared deposit-return system for reusable e-commerce packaging in the Netherlands, now used by more than 30 webshops and 5 packaging companies. Decathlon began with Click & Collect and, from September 2026, extended the system to B2C shipments sent in reusable packaging — showing how a pooled deposit model can move from in-store pickup all the way to home delivery. A participant in all three editions of the Barometer, BOXO joins this year's Transport & Sales – E-commerce cohort.
A pioneering cooperative within the French consigne (deposit) movement, Locaverre collects, washes and redistributes glass bottles on behalf of local drink producers, closing the loop between bottling, retail and return. Operating since 2017, it has spent nearly a decade building the washing and logistics infrastructure reuse at scale requires — a wash centre, a network of collection points, and standing relationships with dozens of local producers. In 2024 alone, Locaverre washed 1.3 million bottles and avoided an estimated 678 tonnes of packaging waste, showing how deposit-return for glass can reach meaningful volumes once the supporting infrastructure is in place.
PackBack supplies an automated, incentive-driven reusable packaging system for food and beverage brands, combining trackable containers with a digital deposit-and-return mechanism that rewards customers for bringing containers back. One of its deployments — with Burger King locations in the Netherlands — replaced single-use cups and food containers with reusable alternatives tracked through PackBack's system. Across its brand partnerships, PackBack reports having prevented 9.5 million disposable items from entering circulation between 2022 and 2026, showing how automated tracking can make reuse convenient enough for high-volume quick-service restaurants.
Sykell developed PREFILL, a monomaterial, high-barrier reusable container for yoghurt, ready meals and snacks sold directly on the supermarket shelf. An earlier steel prototype proved too carbon-intensive to reuse profitably, prompting a switch to a lighter, purpose-designed material that still meets food-safety and barrier requirements. Each PREFILL container is rated for more than 25 reuse cycles and gives products a shelf life of around 12 months. Crucially, the system plugs into Sykell's existing network of over 6,000 return points across Germany, so brands can adopt reusable packaging without building collection infrastructure of their own.
Reposit built the standardised returnable-bottle system behind Marks & Spencer's “Refilled” range, covering cleaning sprays, detergents and washing-up liquid sold in deposit-return bottles that customers return, get washed, and refill in store. After an initial six-store trial, M&S expanded the programme to 25 stores, engaging more than 10,000 customers, and expects the rollout to remove around 150,000 single-use plastic items from circulation.
Nowa Market operates its own zero-waste grocery stores in Belgium, where customers buy food and household products packaging-free from bulk dispensers using reusable containers. To manage this at scale, the company built a proprietary ERP platform in-house that tracks each reusable container from filling through sale, return, washing and redistribution — the operational backbone bulk retail needs but rarely has off the shelf. That platform has proven robust enough that Nowa Market now licenses it to other retailers and producers, turning an internal tool into a product for the wider bulk and refill sector.