The evidence on reuse, by question.

Results and lessons of the UK trials of a standardised in-store refill system (Aldi) and an online returnable-packaging system (Ocado), 2020–2025.

The coalition was convened in 2020 by GoUnpackaged, with a funding award from Innovate UK. “The project’s aim was to prove that refill and reuse systems are viable and scalable across multiple product categories and retail formats when facilitated by an efficient supply chain; and that there is sufficient consumer demand for refill and reuse.” Ocado ran its trial from three customer fulfilment centres covering 65% of its customer base.

• Used in the European Reuse Barometer 2026 (Figure 15 commentary): “in the UK Refill Coalition’s online-returnables pilot, packaging came back at an 86% return rate with no consumer deposit at all – the return step was folded into the existing delivery round instead”.
• Used in the European Reuse Barometer 2026 (Conclusion): “refill reached 30% of sales in a supermarket trial”.

The yearly report of the Belgian producer-responsibility organisation for household packaging: tonnages placed on the market, recycling results and the share of reusable packaging.

• Fost Plus members reported 557,364 tonnes of reusable packaging placed on the market in 2024, alongside 728,392 tonnes of single-use packaging.
• “Following a sharp drop in reusable packaging during the COVID-19 pandemic, the share of reusable packaging in 2024 has nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels.”
• Used in the Belgian Reuse Barometer 2026 (Introduction): the report is quoted on the need for “innovative and sustainable packaging systems, with an increasing focus on prevention and reuse”.

CDP’s analysis of corporate plastics disclosure (June 2026): 4,262 companies disclosed in 2025, 44% more than in 2023; circular design, reuse and end-of-life management remain the exception.

• From the foreword: “CDP data shows that Plastics disclosure grew 44% from 2023-25 and value chain mapping has more than tripled. Yet, the real-world system is still overwhelmingly linear, with circular design, use and End-of-Life management still the exception, not the norm.”
• The report notes a wave of companies cutting or abandoning targets on the reuse, recyclability and compostability of their packaging, citing inadequate infrastructure or technologies.
• Consulted for the 2026 European report as a global benchmark on corporate reuse commitments.

The first economic barometer of the French bulk and reuse sector (May 2024), in French.

Presented by its authors as the first step of a continuous monitoring, it maps the players of the sector and its two segments, bulk and reuse, and the economic development stakes to 2030.

• The baseline of the French series whose 2026 edition is cited by the European Reuse Barometer 2026 (see the second edition below).

Second edition of the French economic barometer of bulk and reuse (May 2026, 2024 data): household and professional packaging, structuring, dynamics and scale-up. In French.

The edition extends the analysis for the first time to professional (commercial and industrial) packaging, giving a consolidated reading of reuse in France, and describes reuse as an economic sector in structuring, with its players, its infrastructure and its models.

• Used in the European Reuse Barometer 2026 (Figure 17 commentary): “it calls washing the critical link of every reuse loop, finds household washing centres running at just 30% of capacity – headroom for some 85 million more packages a year with no major investment – and argues that pooling and standardising formats is what structurally lowers logistics and washing costs”.

The Belgian producer-responsibility organisation for commercial and industrial packaging: 83% of the packaging in circulation is reusable (92% excluding cardboard), recorded at each rotation.

• “Between 2000 and 2024, the ratio of reusable packaging to single-use packaging more than doubled, reaching a factor of 4.76. In terms of volume, 83 % of the commercial & industrial packaging in circulation in Belgium is reusable. If cardboard (which is not really suitable for reuse) is excluded, this percentage rises to 92 %.”
• Reusable packaging is reported “on the basis of single-use equivalents, which means that reusable packaging is recorded in each rotation”.
• Used in the European Reuse Barometer 2026 and Belgian Reuse Barometer 2026: the European report cites pp. 8–9 of this edition; the Belgian report cites it with the 2025 edition for the share of commercial and industrial packaging that is reusable (82% by weight in 2025).

One-page fact sheet of the European association of reusable transport packaging poolers (13 August 2024, 2020 data): 1.2 billion assets on the market, 56 rotations on average over a lifetime of about 8 years.

• “Total number of Reusable Transport Packaging assets currently placed on the market: 1.2 billion.” Average rotations: 56 in a lifetime (range 25–120) and 7 a year (5–20); average life 8 years (5–15). The figures are based on 2020 data and described as conservative.
• Used in the European Reuse Barometer 2026 (Figure 11 commentary): “As an external yardstick, Reusable Packaging Europe reports an average of 56 rotations over a typical 8-year asset life for reusable transport packaging, within a range of 25 to 120 (2020 data).”

The public report of the Dutch packaging producer-responsibility organisation for 2024 (English edition): 88% of the packaging placed on the Dutch market was recycled or reused.

• “88% of packaging reused and recycled!” The report gives, per material, the ratio of single-use to reusable packaging in 2024.
• Verpact funded the 2026 European edition of the Barometer; the report was consulted as a national benchmark for the Netherlands.

Fost Plus’s report for 2025: 540,386 tonnes of reusable household packaging placed on the market, 43% of all household packaging by weight.

• “Reusable packaging has been well established in Belgium for many years. In 2025, it accounted for 43% (by weight) of all household packaging on the market; for commercial packaging, that figure is even considerably higher.” The report counts 284,000 tonnes of CO2 saved thanks to reusable packaging.
• Used in the Belgian Reuse Barometer 2026 (Executive Summary): “By 2025, 43% of household packaging placed on the Belgian market and 82% of commercial and industrial packaging in circulation were already reusable by weight”.

Two-page fact sheet on reusable household packaging in Belgium in 2025: 43% of the packaging placed on the market by weight, almost all of it drinks packaging, mostly glass. In French.

• Fost Plus members placed 540,386 tonnes of reusable packaging on the market in 2025, slightly less than the year before; 99.3% of the reusable packaging declared, by weight, is drinks packaging, mostly glass.
• The fact sheet puts the saving from reusing glass drinks containers at 284 kilotonnes of CO2 compared with single-use glass containers that are recycled.
• Used in the Belgian Reuse Barometer 2026: cited for the share of household packaging that is reusable and for the weight of drinks packaging in it.

Final report (June 2025, 158 pages) of the Flemish Green Deal on packaging reduction and reuse: 59 participating parties, their pilot projects and the lessons drawn from them. In Dutch.

• 31 participating parties, 52.5% of the projects submitted, state that their project will not be stopped immediately after the Green Deal. One of the main causes of projects not started or not completed is the departure of a key person.
• The report finds that imposing measures raises the sense of urgency and gives potential investors the guarantees they need to release funds, provided that feasible alternatives exist for all players in the chain.
• Used in the Belgian Reuse Barometer 2026 (Introduction): “Flanders’ Green Deal Anders Verpakt published its final report in June 2025: 31 of the 59 participating parties said their project would not be stopped immediately”.

Yearly progress report of the Global Commitment signatories (brands, retailers, packaging producers) on their plastic packaging targets, with 2024 data.

• Used in the European Reuse Barometer 2026 (Introduction): “the adoption of reusable plastic packaging remains limited, with brand and retail signatories reporting that only 1.2% of their total packaging is reusable” (p. 7).

Eurostat’s yearly statistics on the packaging waste generated, recycled and recovered in the EU and in each Member State (dataset env_waspac, 2023 data).

• Used in the European Reuse Barometer 2026 (Introduction): “The EU generated 79.7 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2023 – 177.8 kg per inhabitant – and while recycling has nearly reached its 2030 target (67.5%), prevention has not: per-capita waste only began falling after its 2021 peak, and 2023 figures remain close to record levels.”

The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, adopted on 19 December 2024 and applicable from 12 August 2026: reuse targets and refill obligations by packaging category.

• Since 2026 the Barometer organises its results by the PPWR packaging categories; Section 5 of the European report sets out the targets category by category.
• Used in the European Reuse Barometer 2026 (Conclusion): “Since August 2026, the PPWR has applied across Europe. Its first reuse and refill obligations follow from February 2027, and its reuse targets from 2030.”

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under the European Commission's reuse policy (Decision 2011/833/EU): documents published in EUR-Lex may be re-used for commercial or non-commercial purposes, as stated on the EUR-Lex legal notice.

A 2026–2029 Interreg project testing the conditions for a cross-border pooling system for reusable glass packaging, with fourteen organisations in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France.

• From the European report’s case study: a budget of €6.6 million, €3.97 million of it EU co-funding; the partners include the EPR organisations Fost Plus, Verpact and Citeo, the industry bodies Genossenschaft Deutscher Brunnen, Mehrwegverband Deutschland, Pro Mehrweg and Réseau Vrac et Réemploi, Enviu, Zero Waste Europe, New ERA, Mission Zero Academy, the University of Antwerp and the Province of South Holland.
• Used in the European Reuse Barometer 2026 (Figure 21 commentary): “Building that layer deliberately is the aim of the INTERPOOL project, launched in 2026 under Interreg North-West Europe: fourteen organisations from four countries testing the conditions for a cross-border pooling system for reusable glass.”

An initial report on packaging-free (bulk) shops in Europe, June 2020.

• Cited, at p. 30, in the European and the Belgian Reuse Barometer 2026 (bibliography entries 30 and 62).

Fost Plus’s consumer survey with Ipsos: 1,000 Belgians interviewed between June and September 2024 on packaging, waste and recycling.

• Used in the Belgian Reuse Barometer 2026 (Introduction): “In the Fost Plus Environmental Barometer, 80% of the Belgians surveyed say there is too much packaging (Ipsos surveyed 1,000 Belgians for this study between June and September 2024).”

A study for OVAM under the Green Deal Anders Verpakt (30 April 2025) on future scenarios for collecting reusable packaging, from an analysis of existing collection systems in Belgium and abroad. In Dutch.

• Used in the Belgian Reuse Barometer 2026 (Executive Summary): “A study for OVAM lists guide values for take-away systems, taken from a blueprint by Zero Waste Europe and Reloop: a 90% return rate after one year.”

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under OVAM's terms of use: the brochure may be downloaded, printed and distributed digitally, without modification or commercial use, as stated on page 3 of the brochure.

The activity report of the Belgian authority that supervises packaging producer responsibility; its chapter 6 monitors reusable packaging.

• Cited in the Belgian Reuse Barometer 2026 (bibliography entry 3, chapter 6 “Monitoring of reusable packaging”).

Slides presented by Barbara Metz, Deputy Executive Director of the German NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), at the European Reuse Conference in Brussels on 24 September 2019, on Germany's target for refillable beverage packaging.

The German Packaging Act, in force since 1 January 2019, sets the aim that at least 70% of beverages are filled in refillable packaging. In 2019 the target applied to the beverage industry and food retail as a whole, and the slides note that no sanction was defined for a persistent shortfall.

A DUH survey of large bottlers and retailers found that Aldi and Lidl, with 52% of the mineral water market, sold beverages only in single-use containers. Danone Waters reported 0% refillables and Nestlé 12%. DUH concluded that a sector-wide quota lets companies shift the responsibility onto others. It proposed a quota for each company, annual publication of the results, sanctions, and a levy of at least 20 cents on single-use bottles.

The slides also give DUH's figures that a 0.7 litre glass bottle refilled 50 times replaces 23 single-use 1.5 litre plastic bottles.

White paper published by the ocean NGO Oceana in January 2020, written by Anne Schroeer, Matt Littlejohn and Henning Wilts (Wuppertal Institute), estimating how much plastic bottle pollution of the sea refillable bottles could avoid. It covers 76 coastal countries worldwide and uses 2018 beverage sales data from GlobalData.

The paper estimates that 21–34 billion PET bottles a year, out of 445 billion litres of drinks sold in PET, end up in the sea. Increasing the market share of refillable bottles by 10% in place of single-use PET would cut this by 22%, or 4.5–7.6 billion bottles. A 20% increase would cut it by 39%.

Refillable bottles still held 33.9% of the market in Germany in 2018, 35.7% in Chile and 46.5% in the Philippines. In India their share fell from 86% in 1999 to just over 37% in 2018.

The life cycle studies cited in the paper find that refillable PET bottles save up to 40% of raw materials and 50% of greenhouse gas emissions compared with single-use bottles. The paper names the number of trips per bottle, transport distances and waste management as the key factors. It lists seven policy tools governments use, including deposits, levies on single-use bottles, refill quotas and standard bottles.

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0), as stated on its Zenodo record (3687106).

Overview published in April 2016 by the French National Packaging Council (CNE), which brings together packaging makers, brands, retailers, recyclers, consumer and environmental associations, of the reuse and deposit systems operating in France. In French. Its figures date from 2012 to 2015.

The CNE lists seven success factors: robust packaging; a design that eases return (standard sizes, compact, easy to clean); a regulated deposit amount for some packaging; return logistics using the same crates as deliveries; storage space and a stock of packaging larger than filling needs; a dense logistics network close to where products are consumed; and tight control of traceability and food safety.

For beer, about 3 million steel kegs were in use, with 53.5 uses on average over a 15-year life and a regulated deposit of €30. Beer sold in returnable bottles was 1.2% of beer volume in 2014. Danone's returnable glass water bottles for cafés and restaurants last 8 years, make 2.2 rotations a year and 6% are rejected at each rotation (1 litre size). These bottles are about 12% heavier than single-use bottles.

The report notes that return for reuse already works at large scale for business packaging such as pallets, crates, drums and intermediate bulk containers. Of the 12.3 million tonnes of packaging placed on the French market in 2012, 61% was non-household packaging.

Consumer survey commissioned by the French environment agency ADEME and carried out by CREDOC, L'atelier du territoire, GfK ISL, Deloitte and INDDIGO between November 2017 and April 2018 in six shops selling food and drinks in returnable glass. In French. It is part of ADEME's 2018 evaluation of ten French glass reuse schemes.

The shops included a Biocoop in Lons-le-Saunier, a Cora hypermarket selling Météor beer, the Scopéli cooperative with Bout' à Bout', a market stand selling Coat-Albret cider in Rennes, a V and B shop and a Biocoop working with Jean Bouteille. The study combines interviews and observations with a survey of 336 customers of the aisles concerned.

88% of these customers found it useful to have products with a deposit in their shop, and 41% said they sometimes buy food or drinks with a deposit. Half said the offer of deposit products was a reason to come to that shop.

Habit was the main reason for not buying the deposit product, cited by 86% of the 202 non-buyers. Once people start returning containers, they usually continue. The study recommends that the pack says it carries a deposit, that the aisle explains the scheme, and that the return point is easy to find and works reliably, with shop staff on board.

Paper by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2023) on five years of the Global Commitment, under which businesses and governments set 2025 targets on plastic packaging. This card covers only its chapter "Taking reuse from niche to scale" (pp. 23–26). The scope is global.

61% of the business signatories have launched reuse pilots, yet the reusable share of their plastic packaging stayed below 2%. In 2018, few companies had reuse activities beyond legacy beverage systems. The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo and Spadel were among the first multinational consumer goods companies to set quantitative, time-bound reuse targets.

The chapter names a recurring barrier: for some reuse models, good economics and a satisfying customer experience depend on a critical mass of companies adopting reuse and working together. First movers therefore face a gridlock.

The chapter proposes that companies scale refill and concentrate models, which are often already economically and environmentally beneficial and do not always need industry-wide collaboration. Return models need shared infrastructure, interoperability and standard packaging, built with other companies and local governments. Policy such as sector reuse targets and harmonised definitions is described as crucial, and the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation is named as an opportunity.

Study by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the German NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe, published in June 2011, comparing the environmental, economic and social effects of refillable beverage packaging, deposit systems for single-use containers and kerbside collection, with a detailed assessment of Germany. Its data date from before 2011.

The study finds that refillable containers have an environmental advantage over single-use beverage packaging as long as they are not transported over very long distances and their reuse is ensured. Once established, reuse systems usually reach return rates of almost 100%.

For drink makers, investment in washing lines, pool bottles and logistics is higher. Buying reusable bottles instead of new bottles for each filling brings operating cost savings that more than compensate, especially for producers with regional production and distribution. For food retailers, reuse systems are usually more costly than single-use systems.

Reuse systems need more staff than single-use filling, which is more automated. In 2011 the study saw a trend towards single-use containers for water, soft drinks and fruit juice that put reuse systems at risk. It recommended clear labelling of reusable and single-use packaging, an information campaign and an incentive levy on less favourable packaging.

Report published in November 2023 by IGD, a UK research charity for the food and grocery industry, on communication trials run in 2022–23 with the charity Hubbub in Aldi, Asda and M&S stores that offer refill on the go (in-store dispensers where shoppers fill a container). From the United Kingdom.

In the trial stores, 51% of shoppers had noticed refill on the go, but 76% had not used it (1,392 respondents before the campaigns). Among those who had not tried it, the top motivators were earning rewards (44%) and saving money (42%).

Messages about cost worked: the share agreeing that refill is always cheaper than the packaged equivalent rose from 44% to 51% (336 respondents). Shelf-edge labels next to the packaged equivalent were the most noticed element: 46% of shoppers who had noticed refill remembered seeing them. Videos on social media reached just over 2 million people, but only 8% of shoppers recalled them in store.

After seeing step-by-step guidance at the refill point, 68% said it helped them understand how to use refill and 45% said they were more likely to try it (91 respondents). IGD recommends that refill be cheaper than the packaged product, that the fixture be prominent, well stocked and easy to use, and that shoppers be reassured on hygiene and quality.

A French government-commissioned report (November 2019) on a deposit system for beverage packaging; this card covers only its chapter II on reuse. In French. Most of the report is about a deposit for the recycling of single-use bottles and cans. Chapter II (pages 14–17 of the report) deals with the reuse of glass bottles.

The report states that about 200,000 tonnes of glass are reusable in French cafés, hotels and restaurants, against 360,000 tonnes of single-use glass in the same channel. Drinks wholesalers collect the empty bottles and kegs when they deliver full ones. It puts the overall reuse rate of glass bottles in France at slightly under 10%.

It cites the Alsace brewery Meteor, which sells 60% of its production in returnable bottles. Meteor says the reused bottle saves it €0.20 per bottle over short distances. The report notes that a life cycle comparison of reused glass depends on bottle weight, number of uses, distance, washing and return logistics.

It recommends a reuse rate that can be sanctioned, set for the producer responsibility organisations or the largest producers. It also recommends that large retailers be required to take back the returnable bottles of producers who start reuse, and that large return machines get a compartment for reusable bottles.

UK consumer research (June 2023) on prefilled returnable packaging: products sold already filled in packaging that is returned, washed and refilled by the supplier. The survey of 2,023 people was built on the COM-B behaviour-change model.

69% of respondents said they were likely or very likely to try products in returnable packaging if they were available where they shop. Almost half (45%) named the lack of availability in their shop as the main barrier. 25% named the lack of their brands and 31% a higher price.

The study defines five consumer groups. Early Adopters (16%), Capable & Preparing (25%) and Ready & Contemplating (35%) together make up more than three quarters of respondents. 47% said they would pay more for prefilled returnable products. 28% would only try them if cheaper than the single-use version.

Of the 30% who had used a refill station or refill shop, 85% were satisfied. Those who disliked refill said it was messy (23%), too much effort (20%) or unhygienic (17%). Half of respondents said a discount would encourage a first purchase and a return. Deposits were accepted if kept under £2 per item.

A white paper by the glass packaging maker Verallia (March 2022) collecting interviews and opinion pieces on glass reuse from brands, retailers, pool operators and researchers. Most facts in its opening pages are quoted from other sources, which it names.

It cites a FEVE study putting the average number of trips of a glass bottle at 23 to 50 in an optimised system with a return rate above 97%. It also cites the same study for the share of refillable glass made by FEVE members: 6–7% a year in 2017–2019.

In interviews, GeMeMa describes the beer bottle pool created in 2020 by four large German brewers, starting with a 0.33 l long-neck bottle. GeMeMa says the glass industry lacks production capacity for new pool bottles. Companhia Muller de Bebidas (Brazil) says 65% of its products are sold in returnable packaging, about 10 million reused bottles a month. Citeo names the lack of common return practices between French retailers as a hurdle.

The paper sets out seven action areas for scaling glass reuse, among them business model, consumer behaviour, product design, infrastructure and funding.

A French version, "Livre blanc sur la consigne", was published at the same time.

A four-page NGO position paper (April 2022) on the reuse targets that the EU packaging law, then under revision, should contain. It was written before the PPWR was adopted, so it shows what NGOs asked for, not what the law says.

It asks for legally binding targets for all packaging placed on the EU market: 30% reusable by 2027, 50% by 2030 and 75% by 2035. It adds sector targets, for example 75% reusable packaging by 2030 for take-away food and drinks and 100% reusable B2B transport packaging by 2030.

It asks that reusable products cost the same or less than single-use ones, that reporting be broken down by sector, and that at least 10% of producer responsibility fees finance reuse infrastructure. It lists the national reuse targets existing in 2022 in Austria, France, Germany, Portugal, Romania and Sweden.

An interactive brochure by the German development agency GIZ (March 2024 edition) presenting reuse businesses and two city initiatives, mostly from Germany. The company profiles are short self-descriptions: founding year, staff, customers and how the system works. The brochure says it is a small selection, not a full survey.

Profiles cover take-away (reCIRCLE, Relevo, VYTAL), e-commerce (Boomerang, hey circle, RAVIOLI, RePack), beverages (fritz-kola, Ebb & Flow Keg), groceries (dotch, SEA ME/zerooo, WECARRY) and infrastructure (ReFrastructure, Uzaje, Reusable Packaging Europe, Worldbag). A few profiles come from outside Europe (Thailand, Colombia).

The two city cases show what local authorities can do. Tübingen has taxed single-use take-away packaging since January 2022. It subsidises caterers who switch to reusables, with up to €500 for tableware and €1,000 for a dishwasher. Frankfurt's waste company merged its city cup scheme into the VYTAL system in October 2022 and reports 138,133 single-use items saved by October 2023.

Citeo's quality guide (version 2, February 2026) for the washing of reusable glass jars and bottles for food in France. In French. It sets the minimum quality that packers can ask of washing centres, and comes with an audit grid. Version 2 revises the January 2023 guide using washing trials Citeo ran in 2024 and the first half of 2025.

The trials used about 400 bottles and 489 jars, deliberately contaminated with bacteria, allergens and a chemical. The washed glass must reach the cleanliness of new glass: no allergens, yeasts or moulds detected. The total bacterial count should stay below 100 colony-forming units per container, with up to 20% of samples allowed between 100 and 300.

From the trials, Citeo recommends immersion washers with a pre-wash and at least two caustic soda baths. It also recommends double-ended machines that release glass straight into a clean room. Version 2 adds drying, air-quality control in the packing area and sealed shrink-wrapping. It also changes how samples are taken, swabbing the inner wall instead of testing rinse water.

The guide asks washing centres to record breakage and rejection rates at sorting and after washing, so that fleet renewal can be planned. Citeo announces a label guide for the end of 2026 and an update covering other materials in 2027.

A five-page summary of a survey of 1,000 consumers in France, carried out in September 2023 by Léko, a French packaging producer-responsibility organisation, with Circul'R and Appinio. In French.

73% of the respondents see the environmental impact of packaging as important or very important, and 88% say they have already reused their packaging. 61% would like to take up one or more reuse practices: 30% bulk buying with their own containers, 28% bulk buying with the seller's containers and 25% containers with a deposit (several answers possible). The main motivation is environmental. The main obstacles are lack of time and incentive, and the deposit to pay.

For yoghurt pots, 91% say they are ready to buy a pot with a deposit. Respondents show no marked preference between glass (52%) and plastic (48%). The obstacles named are the deposit to pay, storing the pots and taking them back to the shop.

For shampoo bottles, 94% say they are ready to switch to reuse: 57% to refill in store and 49% to buy a bottle with a deposit (several answers possible). The summary notes that refilling avoids paying a deposit, but that consumers must be reassured on hygiene. Hygiene is named as an obstacle especially by younger respondents, and the deposit especially by lower-income households.

Two further pages cover the return of phone boxes and of ink-cartridge packaging, by post or at a collection point.

Sondage OpinionWay pour DIGI France: an online survey of 1,042 people representative of the French population aged 18 and over, carried out on 7 and 8 September 2022 and published in December 2022. In French.

63% of the respondents buy bulk products and 37% never do. Bulk buyers spend €88 a month on bulk on average (656 answers). Their main reasons are controlling the quantity they buy (27%), saving money (26%) and reducing their environmental impact (26%).

The advantage named most often is having less packaging to throw away (65%). The drawbacks named most often are that hygiene is less well assured for bulk products (42%) and that carrying all the containers needed is complicated (39%).

79% agree that shops should offer a deposit system for the containers needed to buy in bulk, and 73% that shops do not let customers bring their own container often enough. 61% intend to buy bulk products in the next 12 months.

Slides presented at the Salon des vins de Loire on 6 February 2017 on what French wine shops think of returnable bottles with a deposit. In French. They rest on a phone survey of 1,682 wine shops between March and July 2016, and on interviews with 15 wine shops in early 2017.

In 2016, wine shops gave returnable packaging an average score of 6.2 out of 10, and the idea of applying it in their own shop 5.5. 39.9% had a very favourable view (8 to 10) and 23% were against. Only 24.2% were ready to apply it in their shop, while 26.4% were hostile.

The shops interviewed applied deposits mainly to foreign beers and very rarely to wine. Several said their suppliers, Belgian ones in particular, require it. In the few shops that did, these volumes made up 30 to 80% of their beer and wine sales.

The arguments against were extra work for collection and sorting, lack of space, the need for suitable software and the logistics of returns. For wine, the slides note that bottle shapes are shared by appellations and regions, which makes it hard to tell apart bottles sold through other channels.

Test report dated December 2020, published by KIDV, the Netherlands Institute for Sustainable Packaging, on 10 March 2021. YOYO.BoostReuse measured how industrial dishwashing affects reusable meal containers made of ten materials.

80 containers made of wood, stainless steel, aluminium, two kinds of PP, PBT, Tritan, SAN, PC and wheat straw with PP were tested. They were washed in a hood-type industrial dishwasher of the kind used in canteens and restaurants: washing at 62°C, rinsing at 84°C, 90-second cycles. Six tests combined 50 washes with storing curry or tomato sauce for one hour, one day or three days.

The report concludes that wooden and aluminium containers are not suitable for washing and long-term food storage, while non-transparent PP, PBT and SAN containers are the most suitable. It advises washing containers within 24 hours to avoid food smell and strong discolouration, and using soft, non-metallic cutlery to avoid scratches.

Boxes already washed 50 times took on colour from food more easily than new boxes. The report states that frequent washing and food storage affect every type of container.

Video replay of Citeo's second ReUse Day, held on 3 October 2023, on the shared national reuse scheme for food and drink packaging that Citeo was preparing in France for launch in 2024. In French. This card is based on the slides shown during the session.

The slides describe the scheme as planned in October 2023. Standard glass packaging defined by Citeo would be available at launch: 1-litre bottles, 450 mL and 720 mL jars and a 75 cL amber bottle. The working assumption was 3 to 7 million packages placed on the market in year 1 and 145 to 175 million in year 4.

Empty packaging would be returned in hypermarkets, supermarkets, click-and-collect points ("drive"), convenience stores in very dense urban areas and specialist shops. Home collection was set aside for the launch. The deposit would be a fixed amount per type of packaging, the same in cafés and restaurants as in retail.

For washing, the working groups recommended immersion washers. Two sizes of sorting and washing centre were costed, with capacities of 20 and 40 million packages. The slides plan at least one centre in year 1 and three to four in year 4.

A survey of 1,440 shoppers found the mention "consigné" (with a deposit) useful on packaging for 80%, "réutilisable" for 68% and "réemployable" for 60%. The next ReUse Day was set for 16 January 2024.

A 2025 global modelling report by The Pew Charitable Trusts, produced with ICF, on cutting plastic pollution by 2040. This card covers its findings on reuse and refill.

In the report's "System Transformation" scenario, plastic pollution from packaging falls 97% by 2040 compared with business as usual. Return-based and refill-based reuse provide nearly two-thirds of the modelled reductions in packaging waste.

Among the upstream measures modelled, return systems give 34% of the reductions in plastic packaging waste by 2040, and refill 32%. Refill is most effective for flexible packaging, such as shampoo or detergent. Return systems are most effective for rigid packaging.

Reuse at this scale would mean about US$570 billion of private spending a year by 2040. Two-thirds of it would be operating costs such as transport and labour. The model estimates 620,000 jobs a year in packaging.

The report notes that Western Europe may suit centralised, shared return infrastructure such as washing and bottling. Heavy glass and metal containers may be best suited to local systems with short distribution distances. A technical appendix assumes 25 uses for reusable plastic and 50 for glass.

The first edition (2020) of Breaking the Plastic Wave, a global model of the plastics system by The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ. This card covers its reuse findings only.

The report models three levers to reduce plastic waste: eliminating avoidable plastic, reuse by consumers, and reuse through new delivery models. The new models include refill from dispensers and take-back services with reverse logistics and washing.

In its 2040 scenario, these levers avoid 8%, 4% and 18% of plastic waste, a total of 125 million tonnes. The new delivery models give more than half of the avoided waste under this group of measures.

The model finds that consumer reuse, such as reusable bags, bottles and crockery, saves 40% of system costs compared with disposables. New delivery models save 23% at scale, including reusable packaging, reverse logistics and washing.

The authors name convenience for consumers and businesses as a key barrier if systems are poorly designed. They add that "new legal and regulatory safeguards will be required to ensure that reuse and refill systems satisfy food safety standards." A 2025 edition updates the model.

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0), as stated on page 152 of the report.

A September 2026 report by Réseau Vrac & Réemploi for the Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS) on French bulk-sale rules as a model for EU refill rules.

French law defines bulk sales as selling products without packaging, in quantities chosen by the consumer and placed in reusable containers. The report finds that bulk retail can be regulated as a reuse model without weakening consumer protection.

Product safety rules apply in full to bulk and refill sales. Retailers remain responsible for the hygiene of their premises, equipment and service. Consumers are responsible for the hygiene and suitability of the containers they bring, and retailers may refuse containers that are visibly dirty or damaged.

Under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), a refill station must let consumers choose the quantity, and the price must not include the weight of the container. Information usually printed on the label moves to the shelf, the refill station or signs. For cosmetics and detergents, the consumer must leave with a labelled container.

A French decree lists products that may not be sold in bulk, such as infant formula and frozen products. The report asks for EU guidance that sets conditions according to the risk of each product type.

A March 2026 fact sheet by the Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS) on the technical standards needed to apply the reuse and refill rules of the EU packaging regulation.

ECOS writes that the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) sets the objectives, while standards will define how to meet them. In February 2027, the European Commission is to set a minimum number of rotations (uses) for the most common reusable packaging formats.

ECOS calls the European reuse standard EN 13429:2004 outdated and asks for a full revision. No formal request for refill standards exists yet. The needs it lists include rules for logistics, returns and hygiene, consumer information, and storage for bulk sales and restaurants.

The fact sheet summarises an October 2025 expert workshop. It notes that over 2,160 chemicals are known to migrate from packaging into food. The Food Packaging Forum said that "chemical safety should be embedded into reuse and refill standards from the start."

The fact sheet also states that Europe lacks large-scale, real-world data from reuse pilot projects. It asks policymakers to set rotation rules as data collection speeds up, and industry to share data from pilots.

A March 2025 guide by the Rethink Plastic Alliance, a coalition of European NGOs, on how national and local governments can apply the EU packaging regulation with high ambition.

The guide sets out the reuse targets of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). For beverage packaging, 10% by 2030 is binding and 40% by 2040 is recommended. Takeaway outlets must offer a reusable option by February 2028, at no higher cost than single-use.

The alliance recommends higher national reuse targets, including binding targets for takeaway packaging. It cites Germany, where the largest takeaway reuse providers run about 40,000 distribution points. Denmark allocates about 800,000 euros a year from 2025 to 2027 to takeaway reuse partnerships.

On refill, takeaway outlets must accept consumers' own containers from February 2027. Shops over 400 m² "shall endeavour" to give 10% of their sales area to refill stations by 2030. The guide asks governments to make this binding or raise it, for example to 20%.

Other recommended measures include levies on single-use takeaway packaging and earmarking at least 10% of extended producer responsibility (EPR) fees for prevention and reuse. The guide cites Belgium's federal packaging tax, seven times higher on single-use beverage packaging than on reusable packaging.

A 2023 fact sheet published by the Rethink Plastic Alliance, a coalition of European NGOs, giving seven reasons to prefer reusable take-away packaging, based on figures from other studies.

Citing a study commissioned by the German Federal Environment Agency, the fact sheet states that reusable plastic cups beat all common single-use cups after about 10 uses. Reusable meal boxes break even after 13 to 15 uses, depending on whether they are washed in-house or centrally.

It cites 1.3 litres of water to produce one single-use coffee cup, against 100 to 200 millilitres to wash one reusable cup. It notes that a Ramboll study for the European Paper Packaging Alliance assumed higher washing needs than other studies. Water per wash was two to three times higher, and energy twenty or more times higher.

A representative survey in Germany in January 2023 found that 11% of respondents had ever used their own box for food, against 32% for their own cup. The fact sheet concludes that bringing one's own container complements reuse targets but is not enough on its own.

It lists national rules in France, Luxembourg, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands, and reuse systems such as Recup and Vytal. It reports a 99.3% return rate for Vytal.

A July 2023 policy paper by Zero Waste Europe that turns its study "The Economics of Reuse", made with Searious Business, into proposals for the EU packaging regulation.

Zero Waste Europe writes that its study shows reusable packaging can be economically viable, even in systems designed for single use. It lists the conditions for effective systems: infrastructure, good governance, durable and interoperable packaging, scale, and a minimum population density.

It recommends performance rules in the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). Systems should reach a return rate of at least 60% three years after launch and 90% after at most five years. Packaging should average 10 rotations (uses) before its end of life by the fifth year.

It argues that extended producer responsibility (EPR) fees do not cover the full costs of single-use packaging, so reuse looks more expensive. It recommends giving at least 20% of EPR budgets to reuse, and a levy of at least 10 cents on each single-use item.

It also asks that reuse and refill targets be kept apart, because refills into consumers' own containers are much harder to measure. The recommendations comment on the European Commission's proposal for the regulation.

A June 2023 policy paper by Reloop and Zero Waste Europe on how the EU packaging regulation should move glass packaging from single use to reuse.

Citing a 2020 review by Zero Waste Europe and Reloop, the paper states that reusable glass bottles produce 85% fewer carbon emissions than single-use glass bottles. They also produce 75% fewer than PET plastic (polyethylene terephthalate) and 57% fewer than aluminium cans.

The authors warn that the European Commission's proposal for the regulation would likely increase the use of single-use glass. In their reading, the proposal exempts spirit drinks from the reuse targets. They add that the carbon impact of glass is closely linked to its weight.

They recommend waste prevention targets set material by material, and stricter for glass. They also ask for stronger reuse targets, extended to takeaway and on-site catering, retail food and drinks, wine, spirits and milk.

A 2023 fact sheet by Zero Waste Europe that answers claims that reusable food packaging is unhygienic or increases food waste.

On food waste, the fact sheet quotes a study by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Food sold unpackaged or in reusable packaging "is almost always environmentally preferred to food in single-use packaging."

On hygiene, it notes that EU food hygiene law, Regulation (EC) 852/2004, already requires reusable containers to be kept clean and, if necessary, disinfected. Businesses must meet these rules whether they use reusable or single-use packaging.

It separates two models. In systems for reuse, a business owns the packaging and runs distribution, return and washing with hygiene standards throughout. For refill into consumers' own containers, it calls hygiene rules and limits on shops' liability a good practice.

It adds that in France, industrial washing of reusable secondary and tertiary packaging for the food industry has proved to work at scale.

A September 2024 study by Eunomia Research & Consulting for Zero Waste Europe that models the cost of takeaway reuse against single-use packaging in Aarhus (Denmark) and Berlin (Germany).

The model covers six formats: bowls, pizza, burger and sushi boxes, and cups for hot and cold drinks. It describes a 2030 system based on the Aarhus pilot, covering about 85% of takeaway sales, with a 98% return rate.

Without fiscal support, reuse would cost vendors, and therefore consumers, more than single-use. Cups, bowls and sushi boxes come out almost cost-neutral. Pizza boxes, and to a lesser extent burger boxes, cost more because they are the least efficient to wash and transport.

Single-use is cheaper only because the costs of litter clean-up, litter nuisance and carbon are not priced in. Counting them, the benefits for society outweigh the extra cost for vendors. The authors note that this result is highly sensitive to the assumed cost of litter nuisance.

A lower return rate makes the system cheaper, because the operator keeps unpaid deposits, but it harms environmental performance. To limit this risk, the report recommends minimum return and rotation rates. It also recommends fiscal measures on single-use packaging, and binding targets if needed.

The second edition (2025) of the ReuSe Vanguard Project (RSVP) blueprint by Zero Waste Europe, a guide to reuse systems for takeaway food and drinks packaging in European cities.

It draws on projects in seven cities in six countries: Aarhus, Barcelona, Berlin, Ghent, Leuven, Paris and Rotterdam. It sets five criteria for a reuse system: effectiveness, recognition, interoperability, inclusiveness and guaranteed safety.

The blueprint proposes minimum average return rates of 60–80% in year 1, 75–90% in year 2 and at least 90% from year 3. Packaging should be used at least 10 times before its end of life. In Aarhus, the return rate reached 86% by the end of year 1.

According to the blueprint, experience in Germany, the Belgian Kombak project and a Rotterdam pilot shows that legal obligations alone are not enough. It cites Tübingen, which has taxed single-use takeaway packaging since January 2022, at €0.50 per item. The tax raised €1 million in 2022.

Annex I gives one-page snapshots of six city projects. In Aarhus, users pay a €0.67 deposit by contactless bank card. Annex III sets safety guidelines, such as washing food packaging at 65°C or more, then steaming and drying it with hot air.

An August 2026 guide by Zero Waste Europe that helps local authorities write a plan to prevent single-use waste, with eight measures and examples from European cities.

It comes from the Elevating Reuse in Cities (ERIC) project, in which Zero Waste Europe members helped 30 EU municipalities write such plans in 2023–2025. Its measures include a city-wide reuse system for takeaway food and drinks, and reuse rules for events and public procurement.

For a takeaway reuse system, the playbook recommends a public tender with binding requirements on interoperability, return points, washing capacity and the deposit. It advises assessing centralised washing early, as this is often the key bottleneck for scaling reuse.

The playbook reports that the Aarhus REUSEABLE cup system, run by TOMRA Reuse with the municipality since January 2024, reached an 88% return rate. In total, 1.8 million cups have been reused. From 1 September 2026, Brussels requires reusable cups at events in public spaces, with a guaranteed 90% return rate.

In Viladecans, Catalonia, a three-month campaign brought 82 shops and 115 families to shop with their own containers. It recorded 3,807 purchases made with at least one reusable item.

A 2025 white paper by Reusable Packaging Europe (RPE), the association of companies that pool reusable crates and pallets, setting out its policy asks for reusable transport packaging.

Citing a 2022 Fraunhofer study, RPE states that reusable crates outperform single-use cardboard boxes in 15 of 17 categories. It cites a breakage rate in transport of 0.02% for reusable crates, against 0.82% for cardboard.

According to studies cited by RPE, reusable crates emit less greenhouse gas per use than cardboard boxes from the sixth use, and are used over 50 times in practice. A 2018 Fraunhofer UMSICHT study is cited for up to 64% less water over the life cycle.

RPE states that its members test their washing processes up to 10,000 times a year, with a 99.99% efficiency rate. Their transport packaging is designed to last 5 to 15 years and typically achieves well above 10 uses.

RPE asks the EU's 2026 Circular Economy Act to set a minimum number of uses for reusable packaging and to harmonise extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules. It criticises the exemption of cardboard from the reuse targets of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).

The first annual impact report of the New European Reuse Alliance (New ERA), a trade association of reuse businesses, published in November 2025 with data for 2024.

The figures come from an internal survey and reflect only the members who answered; the report does not give their number. New ERA had 73 members at the end of 2024, up from 53 at the start of the year.

Members report an estimated €500 million in annual revenue from reuse, and about 75% work only in reuse. In 2024, 44% of companies reported being profitable, while 55.3% of members had not yet achieved a return on investment.

68% of organisations had received external funding, and public sources made up 23.3% of it. Member organisations employ about 45,000 people, of whom nearly 8,000 work only in reuse-related roles.

Retail (70.6%) and hospitality (66.7%) are the most common sectors among members. The report notes that this reflects member profiles, not the volume of reuse activity, much of which happens between businesses.

An April 2026 report by Reloop, which campaigns for deposit systems, on how reusable beverage bottles can be returned through the same collection points as single-use containers.

Reloop notes that most deposit systems for reusable bottles are voluntary, run privately by producers and not very transparent. As a result, return rates, losses, washing volumes and financial flows are rarely made public.

The report sorts countries into three models. In some, such as Belgium and France, reusable bottles rely only on voluntary producer schemes. In others, such as Germany and Austria, these schemes sit alongside a mandatory system for single-use containers. Denmark, Finland, Latvia and Estonia include reusable bottles in a mandatory system.

Reloop argues that one return journey for all containers puts reusable bottles on an equal footing. It reports that in Latvia the return rate for reusable bottles rose from 50% to 90% after the shared system was launched.

Return machines can have a "soft drop" module that collects refillable glass bottles without breaking them. In Latvia, reusable and single-use containers share collection points, transport routes and one counting centre.

An April 2026 fact sheet by Reloop with country case studies of deposit systems that take back reusable and single-use beverage containers at the same points.

In Finland, consumers return about 97% of refillable glass bottles, which are refilled about 33 times before recycling. Reusable bottles still made up only around 2% of the Finnish beverage market in 2025.

In Estonia, the estimated return rate of refillable glass is nearly 100%, with about 20 refills per bottle. A new reusable bottle must sell at least 2 million units a year and have a generic shape. Its producer must let the system operator share the design with other producers.

In Latvia, the return rate of refillable bottles rose from 50% to 90% within two years of the 2022 launch. Shared standard bottles helped cut the number of refillable bottle shapes from about 30 to 14.

In Denmark, reusable glass reached a 100% return rate in 2025. Austria set refillable market share quotas of 25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030, and refillables held 27% in 2024.

A practical guide by WRAP and The UK Plastics Pact (2024) that helps businesses find where their products could move to reusable or refillable packaging.

UK Plastics Pact members reported 3,340 tonnes of reusable primary packaging in 2022. This was less than 1% of the packaging placed on the market. It proposes to call reuse "mainstream" when more than half of people do it on more than half of occasions.

Citing Ellen MacArthur Foundation modelling, it notes that a returnable beverage bottle costs 35% more than existing containers when efforts are fragmented, and 21% less under large-scale system change.

Its lessons include clear and attractive pricing, a convenient experience, standardised packaging, shared washing and filling infrastructure, and pooled logistics. It warns that paying deposits can be prohibitive and that creative incentives are needed. Action plans set steps for 2025, 2030 and 2035.

A companion how-to guide (WRAP, 2024) comes with an Excel tool. It scores each product on two axes: the level of opportunity or urgency, and how easy a move to reuse or refill is.

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under WRAP's copyright notice: the material may be copied free of charge, with the source identified and WRAP's copyright acknowledged, as stated on page 39 of the report.

A report by WRAP, written with the reusable packaging experts Unpackaged, on five roundtables held with UK Plastics Pact members between August 2022 and March 2023.

The roundtables covered retail, dairy, frozen food, household and personal care, and soft drinks. Participants reported that most reuse trials were launched by single brands, usually with one retail partner. Without shared sorting, washing, filling and return logistics, these trials carried significant costs.

Some businesses subsidised trials to match single-use prices, while others charged a premium that made products uncompetitive. The report states that trials have generally failed to provide enough evidence for an investment case.

Participants raised concerns that deposits, especially high ones, add a significant cost to the shopping basket and could exclude lower-income citizens. The report argues that "what is perceived as a lack of demand may actually simply be a lack of availability".

Its recommendations include a vision for shared reuse infrastructure in the UK, a common method to measure reuse, sector-specific washing standards and the open sharing of trial results.

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under WRAP's copyright notice: the material may be copied free of charge, with the source identified and WRAP's copyright acknowledged, as stated on page 2 of the report.

The second edition (February 2025) of Citeo's step-by-step guide for companies that want to launch reusable packaging for household products in France.

In French. The guide covers three forms of reuse: reusable pre-packed products, bulk sales, and refills used with a parent container. It goes from choosing the product to washing and logistics, with sector pages for drinks, dairy, cosmetics, e-commerce and others.

Citeo's consumer studies of 2022–2024 report that 83% of French people say they buy refills. People view an organised system positively if containers are easy to identify and easy to return with a quick refund; 58% prefer an immediate shopping voucher. 62% expect the same final price as the standard product once the deposit is returned.

Citeo reports that since 2023 it and Adelphe have devoted 5% of the contributions they receive each year to reuse; in 2023, 144 projects received €35 million. On washing, it describes spray tunnels that can wash up to 26 million containers a year. Some immersion machines can wash up to 170,000 bottles an hour.

It names the number of uses per container, transport distances, washing performance and the recycling rate of the single-use option as the main factors of reuse's environmental results.

A slide report from the Circular Futures project (copyright Boston Consulting Group), dated 25 October 2024, on when reusable take-away packaging pays off for German restaurants and cafés.

In German. The report states that reusable packaging makes up 1.6% of take-away food and drinks. After two years of Germany's obligation for food outlets to offer a reusable option, this share rose by only 0.9 percentage points.

It compares three set-ups: central collection and washing by a system operator, washing by each restaurant, and customers bringing their own container. Its model assumes a flat monthly fee, single-use containers at 13 cents and washing at 6 cents. Reuse can then cost less than single-use from about 16 containers a day in a small outlet. With a local tax of 50 cents per single-use container, as in Tübingen since January 2022, this falls to the second container a day.

Its environmental model compares a 60 g polypropylene container with a coated-paper one, with central washing. The reusable container must be used at least 5 times for greenhouse gases, 10 times for water and 3 times for waste. The report states that a return rate of at least 90% is needed.

In a scenario where 10% of take-away orders in Germany use reusable containers, it projects savings of 51,200 tonnes of CO2 a year.

A guide in German for meals-on-wheels services, published by the Mehrwegverband Deutschland (German reuse association) in September 2024 and written with Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development.

In German. The guide states that meals-on-wheels suits reuse: delivery areas are local, so transport distances are short, and daily delivery means each container is used many times. Trays left behind can be collected on the next delivery.

It lists the challenges: months of choosing and testing containers, new washing and drying tasks, more storage space, start-up and running costs, and customer acceptance. It advises two to three sets of containers per customer.

Three services are described. The Menüservice Angermünde has used reusable trays for 31 years for about 120 meals a day. Washing costs it about €18 in staff and €2 in electricity and water per day. The Nachbarschaftshilfe Haar, in the Munich district, invested about €20,000, mostly raised through donations. Its caterer charges €0.90 to €1.10 per meal for washing, and savings on single-use packaging pay back the dishes after about two years.

The guide also summarises German rules, such as the obligation since 1 January 2023 for certain sellers to offer a reusable option at no higher price.

Sub-report I of a research project by Ökopol, GVM and legal experts for the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA), published in December 2022 as TEXTE 148/2022.

In German, with an English summary. It maps where reusable packaging was used in Germany in 2019 and assesses policy measures for reusable drinks packaging.

The study finds that reusable packaging was offered in only a small part of possible consumer uses, mostly drinks, with hardly any in food and non-food products. Only transport packaging was widely reusable across sectors. In 2019, reusable packaging carried 17% of the food and drink quantity filled.

Challenges named include investment and operating costs, transport, washing and storage, consumer convenience and the wide variety of products. To create less packaging than lightweight single-use plastic or aluminium packaging, reusable glass bottles need about 40 uses for water and about 30 for beer. Only waste prevention was assessed in this calculation.

A lower VAT rate on drinks in reusable packaging was judged not advisable. For low-priced drinks, a price cut of about 2 cents per 1.5 litres showed no sign of changing behaviour. A binding quota of reusable drinks in each shop's range (30–50% per segment) could comply with EU and German constitutional law, depending on its design.

A working-group report by the Conseil National de l'Emballage (French Packaging Council, CNE), published in 2024, on the challenges and prospects of reusing household packaging.

It covers refilling a parent container at home, and packaging that producers collect, wash and refill. In its foreword, the CNE chairman cites a Renault presentation showing that 95% of spare-parts deliveries to its European factories used reused packaging.

Citing the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME), it says that reusable glass containers beat single-use glass from the 4th use. This held for five impact categories, including climate change. For water depletion and freshwater eutrophication, neither option could be shown to be better.

A large part covers food safety. Washing must remove allergens and the micro-organisms that form biofilms, and worn, scratched or cracked containers must be removed. The report notes that EU rules on plastic food-contact materials assess repeated use over three cycles, and calls for accelerated ageing tests.

It reports Citeo's modelling for its shared ReUse scheme: about 10 million units at a 50% return rate at launch, and over 2 billion at 85% at maturity. Its eight success factors include robust packaging, a deposit amount that ensures returns and full traceability.

A results report by Fraunhofer IML for the Stiftung Initiative Mehrweg (January 2025) measuring how often single-use and reusable fruit and vegetable crates break in German retail supply chains.

Fraunhofer staff inspected 60,555 crates in three central warehouses (June–August 2020) and 2,497 crates in eight stores (June–August 2024) in Germany. The report is published on the website of WBG Pooling, which runs a pooling system for reusable transport packaging.

In central warehouses, 0.22% of single-use crates were damaged against 0.01% of reusable crates. In stores, the rates were 1.69% and 0.1%. Across the whole chain, about 1.91% of single-use crates and 0.11% of reusable crates were damaged.

No damage to reusable crates came from a lack of stability; it came mainly from incorrect handling. Single-use crates broke mainly through instability, outside influences and sizes that do not fit the 600 x 400 mm euro pallet module.

Extrapolating to the German market, the authors estimate the value of damaged fruit and vegetables at about €95.45 million a year with only single-use crates. With only reusable crates, it would be €1.73 million.

A one-page summary of a representative survey of 1,502 Berlin consumers, run at the end of January by the polling institute forsa for Deutsche Umwelthilfe (file dated March 2023).

In German. For take-away food, 86% of respondents said they use single-use boxes from the shop, 18% reusable boxes from the shop and 11% their own box (several answers possible). For take-away drinks, 53% use single-use cups from the shop, 32% their own reusable cup and 26% a reusable cup from the shop.

The main reason given for not using reusable boxes is that none is offered (72%). Others do not want to carry or store boxes (27%) or find the return system too complicated (23%). Only 5% say the deposit is too high.

Respondents would use reusable boxes more if they were leak-proof (96%) or if there were many return points (94%). Lightness (57%), keeping food warm (56%) and a low price or deposit (55%) followed.

71% of Berliners knew of Germany's legal obligation to offer a reusable option, and 62% find it very useful for preventing waste.

A compendium in German by Deutsche Umwelthilfe and the Mehrwegverband Deutschland (March 2026), funded by the German Federal Environment Agency, on moving pre-packed supermarket food to reusable packaging.

In German. Based on data commissioned from the packaging market researcher GVM, it counts about 18 billion single-use packages, or 1.3 million tonnes of packaging waste, a year in nine food categories. Reuse shares range from 0% for baby food to about 4% for wine and dairy products (2023; wine 2022).

Three focus categories were studied: wine, canned fruit and vegetables, and edible oil and vinegar. For these, the authors calculate that reuse could avoid about 710,000 tonnes of packaging waste and 409,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. They multiplied per-package savings from existing life cycle assessments (LCAs) by the GVM package counts.

Ten interviews with fillers, reusable pool operators and retailers, held in autumn 2025, informed the recommendations. For retailers, these include enough storage and sorting space, staff training, return machines enabled for reusable containers, and equal or lower prices for reusable products. For pool operators, they include central pool management, standardised light containers that are easy to clean, and buffer stocks.

A peer-reviewed article by three University of Sheffield researchers (Consumption and Society, published online January 2026) on whether reusable packaging is really inconvenient for consumers.

It draws on qualitative research with 15 UK households that regularly used reusable packaging, mostly in Yorkshire, in 2023 and early 2024. Methods included an accompanied shop, interviews and a week-long packaging diary kept on WhatsApp. The research was part of the Buddie-Pack project.

The authors argue that "Convenience in reusable packaging systems should be viewed in the context of disposable packaging systems being the mainstream packaging system." Some households already decant food into jars and containers at home, which the authors say can prepare them for reuse systems.

One shopper with a tight weekly routine went back to single-use detergent. The supermarket refill trial had changed its machine, which no longer took the branded bottle she had bought. The authors note that paid-for containers make product supply, equipment maintenance and staff training even more critical for retailers.

They also write that "A major part of the inconvenience of RP [reusable packaging] systems comes from the lack of availability of and access to retail locations using RP systems."

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0), as stated on page 1 of the article.

A qualitative study in Danish by Naboskab for the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (Environmental Project No. 2192, December 2021) on why Copenhagen consumers do or do not use reusable take-away packaging.

In Danish. The fieldwork took place in the Copenhagen area in October–November 2021. It combined 5 expert interviews, a review of 7 consumer studies, 50 street interviews and 10 accompanied purchases. The authors stress that it is not representative; it gives qualitative insight into 60 consumers.

Only three of the 50 people interviewed in the street (6%) had bought take-away in reusable packaging. Most had no experience of it, yet 81% of these were open to borrowing a container and 48% could imagine bringing their own.

The main barrier was a lack of attention at the moment of purchase: consumers did not think they had a packaging choice. Extra effort came second, and social norms, such as not wanting to be a bother, also played a role. The study suggests that several barriers stop people from starting but no longer matter for regular users.

88% of street interviewees named climate and environment as a benefit. The study suggests that customers should be asked in the restaurant and offered a discount.

A slide report by Mission Reuse, commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (2023), on reusable packaging for online shopping in the Netherlands and other European countries.

Mission Reuse ran pilots in Utrecht with three webshops, two providers of reusable shipping packaging (Repack and BOXO) and a bicycle courier for collection. In total, 93 orders were tested.

At one webshop where customers could opt in with a €3 deposit, 24.4% chose the reusable packaging and 95% of packages came back, after 6.6 days on average. At another, packages sent without the customer choosing them had a 48% return rate. Of 21 users who answered a questionnaire, 90.5% would use the packaging again.

In an online test with 50 respondents, 64% chose a reusable package, and a deposit paid in advance was preferred to a fine for non-return. Users asked for return points open 24/7 and closer to home.

The report concludes that return costs must fall for the model to scale. It recommends using existing return networks, and asks policy makers to use extended producer responsibility (EPR) and to support return and washing infrastructure. It also describes reusable e-commerce cases in other European countries.

A two-page illustrated blueprint by Mission Reuse (2024) on running reusable cups in closed venues, based on a pilot at a major Dutch cinema.

Mission Reuse states that in closed venues where customers do not come back often, a cup system without deposit or customer registration was most effective. Customers take a reusable cup at a dispenser, pay only for the drink and drop the cup in a dedicated bin when they leave.

An A/B test in cinemas found that 83% of customers took a lid when lids were next to the dispenser, but only 8% asked for one when they were not. Lids also add washing costs and staff time.

The blueprint says that return rates of 90–95% are crucial in the long term. It recommends clear instructions, a cup that reminds people it is reusable, staff who talk to customers, and reusable-cup bins placed next to the other bins. As a rule of thumb, it advises buying three times the number of single-use cups needed per week.

It lists advantages of outsourced washing: food safety standards are kept and high-volume facilities use much less water and energy. It also states that transport distances under 200 km do not affect the cups' environmental footprint.

A press release by Citeo, the French producer-responsibility organisation for household packaging, on the first 12 months of ReUse, its shared deposit system for reusable packaging in supermarkets in four French regions.

In French. Citeo reports 362 active stores, 6 retail chains, 52 brands and 169 products on the shelves. Of 663,000 reusable packages placed on the market, 518,000 products were sold. Monthly sales rose from 5,000 in June 2025 to 67,000 in May 2026.

Citeo reports 108,000 bottles returned, an average return rate of 24%. It reaches 60% for some products, such as organic juices, milk and water. A clearly identified product can double its return rate (48% against 19%).

70% of the packaging is the standard R-Coeur packaging, shared by several manufacturers. Machine availability was 95%, and breakage fell from 2.6% to 1.3%. Shoppers surveyed who tried it gave the scheme an average score of 8.6 out of 10.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation's page (23 February 2026) describes the shared collection, logistics and washing. It notes that the French AGEC law sets a target of 10% reusable packaging by 2027.

A case study by Rezero for Zero Waste Europe (April 2026) on the reuse measures tested at the CONAMA Local 2025 congress in Viladecans, Spain, from 2 to 4 December 2025.

The congress had 645 attendees and served 600 meals. The city installed six water fountains and placed reusable cups made of polypropylene and rice husk at six points. Glass cups and reusable plates replaced single-use items in the catering.

No deposit was charged, because the indoor venue made cups easier to monitor. Cups had a generic design, with no year or event name, so that people would not keep them. Of 1,142 cups used, 800 came back: a return rate of 70.1%. 5.8% of the returned cups were damaged.

Given the attendees' environmental profile and the indoor setting, the organisers had expected more returns. The authors recommend a deposit even at closed indoor events, and daily tracking of cups handed out and returned. Single-use coffee cups remained, because the catering contract was signed before the reuse measures were planned.

A case study by Rezero for Zero Waste Europe (September 2026) on a municipal scheme in Cornellà de Llobregat, Spain, that gives surplus school meals to people in need in reusable containers.

Since April 2022, unserved meals from five public primary schools are frozen in labelled polypropylene containers with lids. The municipality carries them by cargo bicycle to a distribution centre. There, people referred by social services collect them.

Users bring the containers back, and the schools wash them in dishwashers at over 65°C. From 2022 to 2025, the scheme recovered 5,037 meals. Return rates above 90% were reached without a deposit, with personal follow-up and regular reminders.

The authors estimate that 171.6 kg of single-use plastic and 1,343 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent were avoided. These estimates use values from the UpScorecard database and assume each reusable container is used 50 times. Public funding paid for the containers and freezers at the launch.

A case study by Zero Waste France for Zero Waste Europe (June 2026) on how the Métropole de Lyon wrote reusable tableware into its catering framework contract for 2023–2026.

The Métropole covers 58 municipalities and 1.4 million inhabitants. Its contract forbids disposable plastic tableware and makes hard reusable tableware mandatory. Packed meals are the one exception, where recyclable or biodegradable cardboard is allowed.

Providers must take back all containers and packaging at the end of each service. For deliveries without staff, they come back to collect the tableware, paid by a flat collection fee. Environmental performance counts for 10% of the award criteria.

Market research in 2022 found local eco-responsible caterers that were largely ready. One provider had no reusable containers for meal trays at first and complied within the first year. The contract had no reporting duty, so there is no data on packaging avoided or reuse rates. The 2026 contract is to add reporting and penalties.

A Zero Waste Europe factsheet (June 2026), written by Ekologi brez meja, on a survey of 1,019 people in Slovenia in March 2026 about reusable cups at public events.

The sample was representative by gender, age group and place of origin. Respondents gave reusable cup systems an average score of 4.04 out of 5. Women gave 4.10 and men 3.96. Most respondents had already used reusable cups at public events.

69% of respondents said they returned their reusable cup at the last event. Respondents linked reuse systems with less litter and cleaner event spaces. Their concerns were mainly hygiene, waiting lines and how well the return system works.

To improve the systems, respondents suggested simpler return organisation, shorter waiting times, visible hygiene standards and more public awareness.

A Zero Waste Europe case study (April 2026), written with Deutsche Umwelthilfe and the City of Tübingen, on the German city's tax on single-use take-away packaging since January 2022.

Tübingen charges 50 cents on each single-use food or drink container and 20 cents on single-use cutlery. Reusable packaging is not taxed. In November 2024, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that municipal packaging taxes are lawful.

The number of Recup partner businesses rose by almost 90%, comparing six months before and after the tax. The city paid up to €500 to businesses joining a reusable packaging system, and half the cost of a dishwasher up to €1,000. In the first year, 108 of about 400 affected businesses received a subsidy.

In a survey by the city's environment office, 73% of businesses said they had cut single-use packaging since 2019. 17% had dropped it entirely. Supporting businesses took at least half of one full-time post for two years.

A results paper by Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), dated 29 June 2026, on a 12-month pilot in Berlin where reusable take-away cups could be returned in supermarket reverse vending machines.

In German. From March 2025 to March 2026, over 80 cafés and restaurants using Recup cups and eight Rewe supermarkets took part. The cups joined the shared collection and washing logistics of Sykell's Einfach Mehrweg system.

The machines recognised the cups after a simple software update, at no cost in the pilot. A shared Data Matrix code proved decisive. DUH states that sharing such infrastructure can cut the circulation costs of reusable containers by up to 60%.

About 95% of the consumers surveyed found machine returns practical (254 consumers took part in the surveys). Staff explaining the system at the counter had a decisive effect on returns. About 800 cups were returned during the pilot. For DUH, this shows that easy returns and promotion are not enough to raise the share of reuse noticeably. It calls for information, policy and economic tools.

A Zero Waste Europe blog post of 19 March 2026 on a study visit to the city-wide reuse systems for take-away cups and food containers in Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark.

Copenhagen's system, run by New Loop, opened in October 2025 with 34 return points in the city centre. Users return cups and containers at return machines with a payment card and a phone. Businesses that join receive 100,000 to 300,000 Danish kroner from the city.

In Aarhus, TOMRA supplies the return machines and runs the system. The post reports 1.8 million containers reused and a return rate of 88%. The week-long Aarhus Festival recorded 150,000 container uses, with a 94% return rate.

The lessons reported: reusable packaging must cost about the same as single-use, staff must offer it to customers, and the deposit must be set with care. Both cities see national taxes on single-use packaging and reuse obligations as essential to scale up.

A Zero Waste Europe blog post of 18 March 2025 on the reusable cup rental and washing service of Komunala Škofja Loka, a waste management company in Slovenia.

The company bought reusable cups in January 2024, with 85% of the cost funded from regional sources. It started renting them to event organisers in March 2024 and washes them in an industrial dishwasher. The rules for event organisers in Škofja Loka and Železniki now make the rental of reusable cups mandatory.

The service uses a deposit of €2 per cup. The rental fee covers washing, at €0.07 per cup before VAT, and a lost cup costs the organiser €1.23. Some cups have not come back, and the company is working on the return rate.

At the time of writing, 25 event organisers had used the service and 23,000 single-use cups had been avoided. According to the post, organisers find renting cheaper than buying disposable cups.

A practice example published in October 2024 by Afval Circulair, a programme of the Dutch public works agency Rijkswaterstaat, based on an interview with the director of the DGTL dance festival.

In Dutch. DGTL serves all drinks in reusable cups with a deposit. Its food court uses reusable plastic plates, bowls, cutlery and food boxes. Its supplier CupStack handles logistics and washing.

Caterers pay DGTL 10 cents per reusable box, about the price of disposable tableware. Visitors pay a contribution of 15 cents per dish. Together this covers about 70% of the cost, and the festival pays the rest.

The food court is fenced, and volunteers at the exit check that no tableware leaves. In 2023, 93.3% of reusable items came back. In 2024, 5.3% were not returned and 0.4% were rejected. With 40,000 visitors, the festival counts 177,714 single-use items avoided per edition.

Caterers prefer their own branded boxes, and visitors dislike paying a contribution.

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Afval Circulair's terms: its information may be reused provided the website is named as the source and the date of copying is given (copied on 22 October 2026), as stated on afvalcirculair.nl/verantwoording.

A practice example published on 11 September 2024 by Afval Circulair (Rijkswaterstaat), based on an interview with facility managers of Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands.

In Dutch. The university says it used about 3.5 million single-use cups a year, all now replaced by reusable options. Its caterers switched in 2019 to a reusable cup with a €1 deposit. Since January 2024, meals eaten on site come on ceramic plates with metal cutlery.

For take-away, the university uses Vytal's lending system: users pay a fine if they bring the box back late. Packaging can also be returned at some cafés and ice-cream shops in the town centre.

Before the switch, the university estimated that lower purchasing, waste and cleaning costs would repay its investment within two years. So far, it says, practice seems to match. One cost was unexpected: more hot water at the coffee machines, because personal mugs are larger.

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Afval Circulair's terms: its information may be reused provided the website is named as the source and the date of copying is given (copied on 22 October 2026), as stated on afvalcirculair.nl/verantwoording.

A practice example published in October 2023 by Afval Circulair (Rijkswaterstaat), based on an interview with the caterer of Yes!Delft, a start-up incubator of Delft University of Technology.

In Dutch. With the help of the reuse consultancy YoYoBoostReuse, the canteen moved to reusable plates, cups, soup bowls and cutlery. Only sauce pots and sandwich wrappers are still single-use.

There is no deposit, because most customers work in the same building. The caterer reports a return rate of almost 100% and names it as the main reason the system works. Banners and staff training explain the system, and the purple return points are hard to miss.

The small team cut the number of return points, because collecting from many points took too long. Its small dishwasher runs all the time, and a larger one is planned.

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Afval Circulair's terms: its information may be reused provided the website is named as the source and the date of copying is given (copied on 22 October 2026), as stated on afvalcirculair.nl/verantwoording.

A good-practice factsheet of the ACCESS project, co-funded by the EU Erasmus+ programme, on reusable drink cups at sports stadiums, drawn from several European cases.

The factsheet names three things that decide success: cup design, the financial set-up and logistics. A reusable pint cup needs 48 g of material, against 20 g for a single-use one. Without incentives to bring cups back, it warns, a reusable system can harm the environment more than single-use cups.

In an Irish stadium, the usual €1 deposit was small next to a pint price of €6 to €7, and many cups were left in the stands. After an Ireland–Scotland rugby match in February 2020, 52,360 reusable cups were returned to the washing facility.

It recommends unprinted cups, which people keep less often as souvenirs, return points near the exits, clear signs, and washing on site to avoid road transport.

A news item published by Mepex on 14 November 2025 on a reuse pilot in the canteens of Oslo University Hospital (OUS), Norway.

In Norwegian. The pilot tests different reuse models in four canteens. Together, the canteens at Ullevål, Rikshospitalet and Radiumhospitalet have cut their use by over 6,000 single-use containers a week.

Getting the tableware back to the canteens is named as a central challenge. The project tests three ways to achieve it: communication, a deposit and digital tracking. It is run by OUS, ISS and Mepex, with support from Handelens Miljøfond.

A slide report by Mission Reuse (February 2023) on reusable coffee cup pilots run in 2022 with the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA) and the University of Amsterdam (UvA).

In Dutch. The pilots compared two systems. With the Vytal app, users scan the cup and pay a €4 fine if it is not back within two weeks. With PackBack, users pay a €2 deposit at the coffee counter and get it back by contactless payment at a smart bin.

The target set beforehand was a return rate above 90%. The app system had the higher return rate, but the slides give no figures. The deposit system had almost no effect on sales. The app system lowered sales, because some people had not installed the app and did not buy coffee.

For the deposit system, payment fees for refunds were a large share of the cost. Outsourcing washing and logistics eased staff workload, but needed a daily pick-up.

News article published by alchemia-nova Greece on 18 June 2026 about a demonstration of its reusable cup system for festivals, developed in the EU-funded Horizon Europe project REMEDIES.

PLUG & PLAY 2 ZERO WASTE combines reusable 0.5 litre cups and 0.3 litre glass bottles with modular units that collect, clean and redistribute them at the event. The company states that the cups are made of bio-based polyesters and designed for over 100 uses. The washing water is treated in a vertical planted wetland. The system is offered on leasing models.

On 28 May 2026 the system was demonstrated at the Welcome Day of Sea Star Festival in Umag, Croatia. The article says the festival gathered over 48,000 visitors over four days. Visitors were served beer in the reusable cups. They returned the cups at collection points by scanning a QR code in a deposit return app developed by CIBOS Innovation, while the organisers monitored distribution and return rates.

The article reports no return rate and no number of cups used. The system was developed with the partners Bio-Mi, AITIIP, CIBOS and NTUA.

A benchmark of deposit systems in ten countries, published by ADEME in June 2023 and prepared by EY & Associés; this card covers only its findings on deposits for reusable bottles.

In French. In Germany, reuse deposits run without obligations on retailers or producers. For water and soft drinks, the operator GDB manages ten standard glass and plastic (PET) bottle formats with a 0.15 euro deposit. A government-published study cited in the benchmark gives a 99.4% return rate for reusable bottles in 2020.

The German reuse share was 43.1% in 2020, against a national target of 70%. The benchmark notes that a reuse deposit must be significant and lower than the price of a new bottle. It must not be so high that it leads to fraud.

In the Netherlands, the national brewers' association manages the standard BNR beer bottle, 55% of the volume of reusable bottles. The return rate is 98.4%. A BNR bottle is now used 18 times, against 27 to 30 before, because more bottle formats cause more sorting errors.

In Lithuania, 95% of reusable beer bottles are returned. In Estonia, Lithuania and Sweden, producers wash the bottles themselves, with no central washing centre. Norway ended its reuse deposit system in 2015, citing life cycle assessments and the cost of washing.

A two-part review of published studies by the New European Reuse Alliance (New ERA) and Planet Reuse, written for their rEUse campaign on the proposed Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).

Part 1 draws on publications made available by the reuse community. It lists conditions for effective reuse systems: standard packaging shared by several companies, short transport distances, enough rotations, shared return infrastructure and tracking of items in circulation.

It cites a 2020 Reloop review in which 72% of 32 life cycle assessments (LCAs) found reusable packaging better than single-use, 16% worse and 12% mixed. It ends with reuse targets the authors ask of European policymakers, such as 50% by 2030 and 90% by 2040 for transport packaging.

Part 2 groups study results by type of packaging. In a study for the German Federal Environment Agency, reusable plastic cups do better than single-use options after about 10 rotations, and meal containers after 13 to 15. In a 2013 study by Stiftung Initiative Mehrweg, about 4% of single-use packaging was damaged across the supply chain, against 0.1% of reusable packaging.

The authors state that the examples are not exhaustive. Part 2 adds that there is not enough data from existing reuse systems, especially economic and social data.

The report lists four key contributors. One of them is Manon Sennéchael, co-founder of InOff Plastic, the operational lead of the European Reuse Barometer.

A short paper prepared by Eunomia for City to Sea, an environmental charity that champions reuse, refill and return, published in March 2025 for the Global Reuse Summit in Bristol.

It draws lessons for the UK from Germany and France. In Germany, the paper reports return rates of 97–99% for reusable drinks bottles, with plastic bottles used up to 25 times and glass bottles up to 50. The reusable share fell from 66.3% in 2004 to 41.2% in 2018. The paper notes that retailers have no take-back duty for reusable bottles, and that missed reuse targets have not been sanctioned.

In France, since January 2023, catering businesses serving at least 20 guests must use reusable tableware for meals eaten on site. The paper names finding space for dishwashers as a key challenge. Money earmarked for reuse from extended producer responsibility (EPR) fees provided €100 million for reuse projects in France in 2024.

Its recipe for reuse at scale has six parts: mandatory targets, standards, shared assets and logistics, industry incentives, a take-back role for retailers and consumer engagement. In a City to Sea poll of 2,067 UK adults (February 2025), 75% said reusable packaging must replace single-use packaging to tackle plastic waste.

A December 2023 study by Mission Reuse on replacing single-use glass bottles with reusable ones in the Dutch food and drink sector, based on market data, 9 expert interviews and 27 interviews across the value chain.

Of twelve packaging types screened in Dutch retail, single-use glass bottles got the highest score combining carbon emissions and weight. The study then focuses on wine bottles sold between businesses, where the same suppliers deliver often. Hospitality venues use 475 million of the 610 million wine bottles used in the Netherlands each year.

Venues report little space behind the bar and for waste, costly glass waste collection, and wine lost once a bottle is opened. The study reports that new glass bottles cost about €0.70 to €1.00, with delivery times of up to six months. It finds that kegs, bag-in-box and other alternatives suit high-volume venues but lack the customer experience venues want.

It recommends standard bottle formats, water-soluble glues and labels by 2027, and funding for shared pooling and washing facilities. It also proposes a ban on disposable packaging for consumption on the premises in hotels, restaurants and cafés. Citing a 2018 source, it states that reusable wine bottles emit less carbon dioxide than single-use ones within a transport distance of 640 km.

A white paper commissioned by Uber Eats and produced by Eunomia Research & Consulting in October 2024 on takeaway and delivery packaging; it mainly covers single-use packaging, and this card covers its chapter on reuse.

The report finds no takeaway packaging reuse programme operating at scale anywhere in the world. It considers refill not currently suitable for takeaway and delivery, and looks at return systems: containers are picked up from home or brought back to a restaurant or a drop-off point.

It names a pooled system, with a standard container shared by many restaurants, as the preferred option to scale. Such a system needs standard containers, incentives for consumers and restaurants, and return and washing supported by tracking software. The report states that research on polypropylene containers shows 20 reuse cycles can outperform any single-use alternative, if return transport and washing are decarbonised.

It warns that reuse requirements without collection and washing infrastructure can cause more harm than benefit. For governments, it recommends reuse targets for restaurants, local partnerships and grant funding. For the UK, it advises funding reuse operations first, and a reuse target only once reuse has proven feasible for restaurants.

A report commissioned by WWF and produced by Eunomia Research & Consulting, published in April 2024, on how the global treaty to end plastic pollution could scale up reuse; this card covers what it says about reuse systems.

The report focuses on return systems, where the user hands the item back for cleaning and redistribution. Using a red-amber-green assessment, it names five priority applications: drinks in plastic bottles, takeaway food and drink containers, single-use items used on site, delivery packaging and business-to-business packaging in closed-loop operations.

It describes an effective system by strong product design, high return rates and efficient return logistics. It warns of "reuse in name only" when items called reusable do not circulate in a return system.

Its minimum criteria include a return rate target, noting a suggested level of 90%, and design for at least 10 rotations as a performance floor. Deposits, fees or rewards can raise return rates. It expects targets to be easiest for closed-loop business packaging and on-site food service, and hardest for takeaway and delivery packaging.

Citing the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, it states that optimised return systems could cut the plastic used per 1,000 uses of drinks bottles by 90%. It also warns that comparative life cycle assessments (LCAs) can treat reuse systems unfairly while they are not yet optimised.

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under WWF's notice: reproduction in full or in part is allowed if the title is mentioned and WWF is credited as the copyright owner, as stated on page 2 of the report.

A 2024 peer-reviewed study from Spain that measures how circular reusable plastic crates and single-use cardboard boxes are when used to deliver fresh fruit and vegetables. It uses circularity indicators and a material flow analysis, not a full life cycle assessment.

The case covers the delivery of 1,000 tonnes of produce in 15 kg crates or boxes, or 6,666,700 fillings. Based on data from ARECO, the Spanish association of reusable packaging logistics operators, a crate lasts 10 years with 10 trips a year: 100 uses.

In the material flow analysis, the reusable system needs 100,668 crates: 66,667 at the start and 34,001 to replace damaged ones. It uses about 185 tonnes of virgin plastic. The cardboard system uses about 5,380 tonnes of material.

On the Material Circularity Indicator, which runs from 0 to 1, the crate system scores 0.85 and the cardboard system 0.63. A second indicator, the Product Circularity Indicator, gives 0.83 and 0.58. The authors explain the crate's score by its lack of recycled content.

The authors write that only the material flow analysis shows the real amount of virgin material used. They add that neither indicator takes account of natural resource stocks.

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), as stated on page 1 of the article.

A 2022 peer-reviewed study by the University of Lodz on the risks of using reusable shipping packaging for online orders at the logistics provider Arvato Poland. The fieldwork took place in 2021.

The research was part of a 2021 project commissioned by Arvato Poland. The authors visited two of its sites, interviewed 38 employees and put questions to 17 company experts.

The project assumed that a reusable shipping package must be used at least 4 to 5 times to be economically justified. The study names four critical steps: receiving returned packaging, packing, shipping and returns.

Listed potential risks include quality checks and disinfection of returned packaging, longer packing times than with cardboard boxes, and designs that do not fit the courier label. Damage in transport, low return levels and complaints about deposit refunds are also listed. The analysis finds 44 possible causes of lower warehouse efficiency and 75 causes of loss and damage during returns.

In a linked online survey of 1,213 people (May to June 2021), 52.7% said reusable packaging should protect goods against damage. The authors recommend more pilot tests, staff and driver training, and a deposit system tested in pilots to set the return level needed.

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0), as stated on the journal's article page.

A two-page note from June 2025 by LessPack, a project run by Ecoembes, Asociación Vertidos Cero and recircular, on a reusable cup pilot in a university cafeteria in Madrid. In Spanish.

For seven months, the LessPack team supported master's students in waste management at the Autonomous University of Madrid in designing and running the pilot. The company Bumerang supplied reusable polypropylene cups for drinks. Students and teaching staff borrowed them through a digital loan system with a deposit.

The user scans the cup's QR code and links it to a bank card. If the cup comes back in good condition within 15 days, no deposit is charged; otherwise a penalty applies. At the return points the QR code is scanned again. Users do not clean the cup: it is washed in industrial dishwashers.

LessPack reports a return rate of 96%, with cups coming back after two days on average. The note does not give the number of cups or loans. It names staff training and user awareness as key points for wider use. A LessPack summary of September 2025 adds that the pilot was set up to study return patterns, use by customers and the workload for cafeteria staff.

A position paper (July 2026) and a guide for cities (September 2026) by Initiative Verpackungswende. This German coalition of companies, associations and environmental groups campaigns for local taxes on single-use take-away packaging. In German.

Its 25 signatories include the reuse system operators RECUP, Vytal and Sykell, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, Greenpeace and WWF. The paper asks cities to tax single-use packaging and to invest the income in reuse.

Tübingen, Konstanz and Freiburg tax single-use packaging and tableware at €0.50 and single-use cutlery at €0.20. The coalition reports that places handing out RECUP reusable cups rose by almost 40% in Konstanz and almost 90% in Tübingen. The period runs from six months before to six months after the tax started.

Citing the city of Konstanz, it reports about 22 tonnes (4.5%) less waste in public spaces after the 2025 start. In a survey by the city of Tübingen, 73% of businesses said they had cut single-use packaging since 2019. In Tübingen, staff costs of €100,000 for the tax compare with €1 million of tax income in 2022.

The 15-point plan asks for at least six months between adopting the tax and its start. It states that no city-wide reuse system is needed beforehand and recommends existing reuse systems.

A March 2026 interview, published by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region programme, with Daiva Žiogienė of Anykščiai District Municipality in Lithuania. She led a pilot of reusable take-away food containers in the Change(K)now! project.

The municipality bought standard reusable containers through public procurement and gave them to restaurants free of charge. Sixteen local cafés and restaurants joined after one-to-one meetings, workshops and discussions.

Customers pay a deposit of €3–4 and get it back when they return the container, with no app or QR code. Each restaurant takes containers back and washes them in its own dishwasher. There is no central washing system.

Daiva Žiogienė names scepticism from businesses, administrative workload, concerns about container quality and the lack of tracking as the main challenges. The town used national TV features and stickers at participating outlets. She says people gradually started bringing containers back, but the interview gives no return rate or other measured result.

The next steps named are more restaurants, better containers and digital tools. In her view, such systems are easier to set up in smaller towns.

A May 2024 study by EY & Associés for Reloop, which campaigns for mixed deposit systems, on a French deposit system for beverage packaging that would include reusable bottles.

The study describes reuse as marginal in France: about 3% of beverage packaging is reused, mostly in catering. In the Alsace region, 25 million bottles are still reused each year.

It cites a 2018 study by France's environment agency (ADEME) of ten glass reuse schemes. The scheme without a deposit had the lowest return rate, 12%, against 48–97% for the others. For one brewery, reuse beat single use for the environment after two uses of the bottle.

It lists public support for reuse. In 2023, Citeo, one of France's packaging eco-organisations, dedicated €39 million to developing reuse and financed 152 reuse projects.

The study concludes that a deposit for reuse is more competitive when single-use containers also carry a deposit. With a deposit on reusable bottles alone, single-use packaging would be at an advantage.

A 2026 slide presentation by Ringo, an Estonian operator of reusable packaging, about its national service for packages, deposits, logistics and washing.

Ringo reports its own figures since 1 May 2022: 90,000 unique users, more than 300 return points and more than 140 sales points. It reports more than 3 million pieces washed and more than €400,000 revenue in 2025. It states that it washes 99% of the packages in its own washing centre.

Ringo tracked its deliveries to events from 1 April 2023 to 15 May 2024. At events with a deposit, it delivered 364,000 pieces and reports a loss rate of 11%. At events without a deposit, it delivered 751,000 pieces and reports a loss rate of 4%. It also lists poor deposit practices seen at events, such as deposits declared non-refundable.

Ringo states that about 15% of its packages have been lost over time. It writes that many consumers keep the packages at home, because its deposit is lower than the price of a similar new package in shops. It adds that raising the deposit from €1 to €2 could cost it many of its restaurant clients.

Photos show Ringo containers at the counters of Rimi shops. Ringo gives examples of food packages, such as tubs and buckets, for which it says washing is 2 to 5 times cheaper than buying new ones.

A 2025 study by PwC Hungary that models a reuse system with home delivery and collection in Budapest and surveys 1,800 Hungarian consumers.

The modelled company delivers food to homes twice a week, like the Budapest grocery service kifli.hu, and collects the packaging at the same time. Dry goods come in aluminium and liquids in glass, designed for more than 50 cycles. The model tests market shares of 10%, 50% and 70%, with 98% of packages returned in the base case.

PwC simplified the environmental assessment rather than carry out a full life cycle assessment. In the model, a reused glass container emits 20% of the CO2 equivalent of a single-use PET bottle per cycle, and recycled aluminium 68%. Glass needs eight cycles and recycled aluminium four to offset the lower production emissions of PET.

In the model, one shared network at 50–70% market share drives up to 65% fewer kilometres, with nearly 40% fewer vehicles. Cleaning costs about 25% more per container than waste treatment at low market share, and up to 40% less at 50% or more. The modelled service costs about HUF 3,000–6,000 per household per month in central Budapest, depending on market share and excluding profit.

In the survey, 56% of respondents say they buy products in reusable packaging. Of the others, 60% have not come across the option. PwC writes that Hungary's regulatory and funding environment does not favour reusable glass and aluminium packaging. It calls for incentive systems and close cooperation between retailers and manufacturers.

The October 2025 annual report of the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME) on the reused packaging that producers declared placing on the French market in 2024.

In French. Every producer placing at least 10,000 units of packaged products a year on the market must declare its packaging. ADEME received 11,908 declarations on 2024 data, against 4,977 the year before. ADEME writes that this is still very few.

The reuse rate is the number of reused packages divided by all packages placed on the market, counted in sales units. Reused packaging includes containers filled in bulk sales and home refills organised by the producer. 72% of individual declarants say their data are partly estimated or highly uncertain.

ADEME's main table gives 2.89 billion reused packages out of 158.8 billion declared, a reuse rate of 1.82%. The rate is 1.59% for household packaging, 22% for catering packaging and 2.21% for industrial and commercial packaging.

Checkout bags brought by shoppers make up 1.34 billion of the 2.17 billion reused household packages. ADEME writes that their counting method was applied very unevenly. Over 98% of reused pre-packed household packaging is glass.

French law sets a target of 10% reused packaging in 2027. In 2024, producers with a turnover above €50 million had to reach 6%. Only one of the eight approved producer organisations, Citeo Pro, reached it. About a third of the 370 individual producers concerned did.

An OECD working paper of December 2022 on deposit refund systems and extended producer responsibility (EPR). Reusable packaging is discussed on only a few of its 58 pages; this card notes the facts and figures it gives on reuse.

Reuse appears mainly in two short sections, on pages 34 to 36 and 41 to 42, with brief passages on pages 37 and 45 to 46. The authors write that a deposit can help reuse by giving consumers a reason to bring packaging back. They add that reuse is not preferable in all cases, for the environment, for costs or for innovation.

Reusable containers cannot be shredded or compacted, so handling them likely costs more. A pool of standard containers shared by producers keeps costs low. Long transport of heavier refillable containers back to each producer may give higher life cycle impacts than single-use containers. The authors cite reusable bottles of local breweries and the German ReCup cup system as good examples of local reuse systems.

The authors attribute the gradual replacement of reusable drinks containers by single-use ones to cheap virgin materials, notably plastics, combined with brand image and convenience. From 2000 to 2015, yearly sales of drinks in single-use containers in Europe grew by about 60%. Sales in refillable containers fell by about 39%. In German data for 2000 to 2018, beer was the only drink whose refillable share stayed high.

Few jurisdictions had reuse targets in 2022. France aimed at 10% reused packaging by 2027. Austria required retailers to offer, by 2024, 60% of beer, 20% of mineral water and 10% of fruit juice, lemonade and milk in refillable containers. Germany's 70% target for refillable drinks containers had no penalty, and the share stood at 41% in 2018.

The paper notes that EPR schemes can help reuse by partly exempting reusable items from their fees. Croatia charges producers an extra fee of USD 0.045 to 0.15 per container until they sell a target share of reusable items. Norway taxes single-use packaging at 1.27 NOK (USD 0.15) per unit. In Finland, ending a tax gap between single-use and refillable drinks packaging in 2008 is credited as a driver of the shift to single-use. The authors find reuse quotas or single-use taxes likely needed, but only where reuse is better for the environment.

Academic paper testing GSM, BLE/GPS and A-GPS tags to collect location data on reusable small load carriers and to simulate their multi-site cycles.

Find below our most recent research results.

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), as stated on page 1 of the paper.

Same as 009: the Mission Reuse report on the Pathé reusable-cup pilot (four cinemas, three months, 73% return rate, up to 98%), with set-up, learnings and recommendations.

Mission Reuse is a program designed to drive the transition from single-use to reusables in the Dutch market. The program, created by Enviu, Recycling Netwerk Benelux, and Natuur & Milieu, tests new reusable business models in different situations to identify conditions and challenges for implementing them on a larger scale. The research supports innovation but also gives insights into our recommendations for supporting policy to implement reusables successfully in the Dutch market.

After a successful pilot supervised by Mission Reuse, Pathé cinemas has introduced a sustainable reuse system in all its 30 theatres this festive season. During the pilot in four theatres, 45,000 disposable cups and 21,000 lids have already been saved, which translates to significant potential savings on an annual basis! Read below to find out how we're pioneering together towards a cinema experience with less waste.

Cinematic environments provide a unique setting for controlled experimentation. With visitors enjoying drinks and snacks on-site, and the ability to conveniently dispose of packaging on site, it's an ideal setting to explore effective reuse systems. Over a period of three months, we tested a simple reuse system at four Pathé locations throughout the Netherlands, with the aim of assessing the feasibility of the reuse system on a larger scale.

How does it work?

Reusable cups were readily available at the vending machines, with no deposit. Visitors filled their favorite drink or ice cream into a reusable cup and paid for it. After use, visitors could effortlessly return the cups to a return bin just outside the cinema hall. The report contains a lot of photos, graphs and insights on practical examples.

The pilot was evaluated on various aspects, from visitor and employee experience, operational impact and impact on sales figures to scalability and revenue model. The results :

• Direct waste reduction: 45,000 disposable cups and 21,000 lids saved across five product categories (including hot drinks, cold drinks, wine and ice)
• Positive customer feedback highlighted a premium drinking experience compared to disposable cups
• Impact on the operation is minimized as much as possible and employees embrace the reuse system
• With a 73% return rate for the entire pilot, there is still much room for improvement. However, return rates of up to 98% were achieved in the best performing theaters, and overall we saw a positive upward trend, highlighting the adaptability of both customers and employees to the new system.
• A reusable return system as rolled out by Pathé is a financially attractive model and is already paying for itself in the short term.

The result of our Pathé pilot shows that reusable systems in closed environments not only have a positive environmental impact, but are also financially viable. This is an important signal to the industry. 

Future impact. Pathé Cinemas believes in the potential of reuse and has now rolled out the reusable cup system in all 30 theaters. On an annual basis, an astonishing 1.8 million disposable cups could be saved at Pathé alone.

📣 The report includes examples how to implement reusable cups and tableware at cinemas.

🌎 The report contains examples from cinemas in the Netherlands. Language is Duthc and English.

⏰Published in January 2024.

💻 Download for free at the website of Mission Reuse.

Mission Reuse study on what is needed to move the Netherlands from single-use to reusable glass bottles, starting with wine: hospitality collection, bulk transport and local bottling, standardised bottles, shared return logistics, label and sorting issues.

Mission Reuse is a program designed to drive the transition from single-use to reusables in the Dutch market. The program, created by Enviu, Recycling Netwerk Benelux, and Natuur & Milieu, tests new reusable business models in different situations to identify conditions and challenges for implementing them on a larger scale. The research supports innovation but also gives insights into our recommendations for supporting policy to implement reusables successfully in the Dutch market.

The recent report focusses on reusable glass packaging, i.e. bottles for wine and other beverages. It is emphasised that:

• Glass as a packaging material has numerous advantages, including strength, impermeability, UV protection, high quality perception by consumers, and high recyclability.
• However, glass packaging also faces challenges such as energy-intensive production, heavy transportation, and rising prices.
• This research aims to explore what is needed to start the transition towards an alternative, circular system suitable for various liquids and diverse producers, to eventually eliminate single-use glass in the Netherlands by 2030.
• The initial focus is on the wine industry, while acknowledging its broader applicability. The research has aimed to validate the willingness of hospitality outlets to collect empty glass bottles, understand the impact of reuse on their daily operations, and identify opportunities and challenges in this transition at a broader level.

Key Findings and Recommendations:

1. Hospitality Open for Collection, but Time- and Space-Efficiency Crucial: Hospitality outlets play a pivotal role in closing the loop by collecting empty packaging. While they have shown receptiveness to collecting bottles for reuse purposes, outlets encounter challenges in sorting due to the significant time and (often scarce) space required for managing a large quantity of bottles and a variety of crates,
   stemming from the extensive diversity of bottle types.
2. (Financial) Incentives Needed for Bulk Transportation and Local Bottling Facilities: Research underscores the criticality of proximity between bottling processes and the location of consumption for sustainability enhancement. Encouraging bulk transportation and local bottling facilities are key for the success of reuse initiatives, especially considering the predominance of wine production occurring abroad.
3. Standardized Bottle Opportunity: Analysis of glass bottles currently used reveals a diverse array of types, presenting opportunity for the introduction of a standardized alternative. Advocacy for standardization by governments, can streamline collection and offer beverage producers economies of scale.
4.  Joining Forces to Optimize Return Logistics: To ensure efficiency, it is essential to utilize existing logistical networks for the collection and regular retrieval of empty packaging. Furthermore, offering financial incentives and streamlining legal frameworks for the collection of reusable packaging are crucial measures. Currently, logistical parties face challenges and risks in collection efforts, as
   packaging may lose its status if initially labeled as waste. This challenge can be addressed by clarifying regulations, encouraging active participation from logistical and waste collection parties in this system.
5. Sorting and Cleaning Challenges: Cleaning capacity for glass packaging is available, yet major challenges to overcome are related to label removal, often using non-water-soluble glue, and sorting, due to high variety. Government intervention, including regulation governing the use of water-based glue and standardization, potentially at NL and EU level, can alleviate these challenges.

The report contains a lot of photos, graphs and insights on practical examples.

📣 The report includes recommendation and scenarios what is needed to transfer the Netherlands to more glass reuse. Information, however can be used also in other countries.

🌎 The report is based on the condition in the Netherlands. Language is English.  

⏰Published in May 2024

💻 Download for free at the website of Mission Reuse. 

Green Sports Alliance playbook for launching reuse in stadiums, arenas and concert halls: return rate and break-even, cup and box design, return boxes, launch, staff training and fan education, with US and European venue cases.

The Green Sports Alliance, the the environmentally-focused trade organization that convenes stakeholders from around the sporting world (teams, leagues, conferences, venues, corporate partners, governmental agencies, athletes, and fans) to promote healthy, sustainable communities where we live and play published a Reuse Playbook for Sports and Entertainment Venues.  

The aim of the playbook is not only to provide the reasons, contents, and methods but, more significantly, to inspire operators, venues, concessionaires, and leaders that reusing is not just feasible but essential. Sports and entertainment venues are unique closed systems, making them the perfect environments for leading the reuse movement. Major stadiums, arenas, and concert halls are key to building out reuse infrastructure and normalizing it for the hundreds of millions of annual fans.

This playbook includes information on:

• The most important metric: The return rate and the environmental break-even point
• Design of cups and boxes including the choice of material
• Return boxes and take-back organisation
• How to launch a reuse system
• Staff training
• Fan education

The playbook also includes case studies:

• Moda Center became the first sports venue to launch a season-long reuse program for alcoholic
  beverages in the United States in 2023.
• Live Nation, in 2023, implemented reuse programs at scale at 29 festivals and 17 concert venues
  ranging from clubs to large arenas across the US, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
• CPKC Stadium, home of the KC Current, launched reuse in 2024 for all poured and fountain
  drinks across the stadium.
• Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum launched reuse for cocktails and draft beer at the street-level
  concourse in 2023.
• AEG has implemented reuse across 11 venues in 4 US markets (Denver, Seattle, San Francisco,
  and Los Angeles) as well as in Germany (Uber Arena, Uber Eats Music Hall, and Barclays Arena)
  and London (The O2).

📣 The report focusses on take-away reusable packaging for sports and entertainment sectors. 

🌎 The playbook includes best practice examples in sports and entertainment sector in the US and worldwide. Language is English.  

⏰Published in June 2024.  

💻 Download for free at the website of Green Sports Alliance. You have to insert your Email-Address first.

📻Addiontally a podcast episode on the topic is published. You can listen the podcast here: Upstream (30 min).

First German pilot of cross-provider take-back of take-away containers (reCIRCLE, RECUP, Relevo) in Haar near Munich: over 550 containers, more than 3,500 transactions, 60% awareness among citizens.

ReFrastructure Foundation (the digital infrastructure for reuse systems) conducted and completed the first pilot trial in Germany to implement pioneering return concept for reusable containers for take-away food and beverages has. ReFrastructure stands for a neutral digital infrastructure on which data from different reuse systems can be exchanged. It addresses system providers as well as service providers for logistics and cleaning. The campaign was funded by the ‘Umwelt Bundesamt' (Federal Environment Agency) and the 'Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt' (German Federal Environmental Foundation).
Information about the project and results:

• Running from August to October 2023, the campaign was able to build on the broad support and great commitment of all those involved.
• The close cooperation with the municipality of Haar (close to Munich), the three reuse system
  providers reCIRCLE, RECUP and Relevo as well as the participating local businesses enabled the organizer
• ReFrastructure to achieve the goals set for this first cross-provider pilot.
• In contrast to existing reuse systems, in this pilot project reusable containers were taken back across all providers.
• Participating distributors included five restaurants and two bakeries. Only the containers that they were unable to use themselves were collected by ReFrastructure and professionally cleaned by the Munich-based company 'Profimiet' before being returned to the cycle. This kept the distances short and the ecological impact as low as possible.
• The focus of the pilot was to test the digital infrastructure, which enables seamless collaboration
  between different reuse providers and thus cross-provider take-back of food containers, logistics and
  cleaning.
• Another central component was the "Haar geht den Mehrweg" (Haar adopts reuse)
  campaign, which was designed to inform and activate citizens about the project. Through these
  measures, the pilot not only provided a proof of concept for the digital infrastructure, but also served
  to educate and raise awareness among residents about circular economy, the packaging revolution
  and the benefits of reusable packaging.
• In an accompanying exhibition on site, almost 700 visitors informed themselves about the topics
  mentioned over the course of the three months. In addition, the opportunity to return reusable
  containers at this location was used with 80 returns.
• In total, over 550 containers were used, and more than 3,500 transactions were recorded on the digital infrastructure.
• According to a survey at the end of the pilot, 60% of the citizens participating were aware of the
  pilot. The proportion of respondents who are satisfied with the offer of reusable packaging in
  Munich-Haar is also 18 percent higher at the end of the pilot period than before the pilot.
• Reusable take-away still in its infancy: Despite all the satisfaction with the progress and the findings of the pilot project, the awareness and
  use of reusable containers for take-away food and drinks is still in its infancy – despite the obligation
  to offer reusable packaging since January 2023.

📣 For everybody who is interested in experience on implement a return concept for reusable containers for take-away food and beverages from different providers at the ground.
🌎 The document includes data and information from one pilot study in Germany. Language is English and German.
⏰Published in January 2024.
💻 Download for free at the website of refrastructure.  

German synthesis by the Mehrwegverband and the Wuppertal Institute of five pilots testing shared return infrastructure for take-away packaging, with impact indicators and first lessons on financing, communication and logistics.

The German Association for Reusable Packaging (GARP, Mehrwegverband Deutschland e.V.) together with the Wuppertal Institute on Climate, Environment and Energy managed a project were the experience of five pilotprojects piloting take-back infrastructure for on reusable packaging were brought together and valuated. This project was financed by the German Environmental Protection Agency (‘Umweltbundesamt’), acquired by ReFrastructure and realized by Mehrwegverband and Wuppertal Institute.

Background

• Whereas the reuse system for glass and plastic bottles for beverages are quite established in Germany, a widespread reuse system for takeaway cups and containers is still lacking.
• Through the recently introduced reusable duty (‘Mehrwegangebotspflicht’), cafés and restaurants with a certain size and the offer to take food or drinks with you have to provide the option for reusable cups and boxes.
• In this context, several pilot projects were started to test scalable solutions for reuse infrastructures.
• As of April 2024, five pilot projects are planned or running.

Information on the pilot projects

• Haar/Munich: The project "Haar goes reusable" was conducted from August to October 2023 and completed in February 2024. Documentation and project results are available.
• Mainz/Wiesbaden: The pilot "Reusable Model City Mainz-Wiesbaden" is currently in progress and runs from February to March 2024.
• The other three pilot projects in Hamburg/ Westfield, Berlin/ Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, and Munich/ Glockenbachviertel are still in the conception or preparation phase.
• Initiators and coordinators of the projects are various non-profit organizations, foundations, initiatives, or private companies.
• All pilot projects collaborate with a wide network of partners, involve various reusable pooling systems and partly individual systems, and have scientific support for the pilot projects.
• All pilot projects aim to test a common, cross-system and cross-provider return, and refill logistics. 

With the goal of developing a foundation for impact measurement of these pilot projects, a workshop series was conducted on the dimensions of the pilots, impact indicators and first learnings.

Initial insights

• In the design of pilot projects for reuse return systems, several dimensions have to be considered.
• Starting with the stages of the supply chain from the production to the cups and boxes, the filling and lending, the return, the cleaning and the delivery to restaurants and cafés, the pilot projects include different steps in the process. This depends on the different actors that are willing to be involved such as reuse system providers (e.g. Vytal, Recup), logistics, producers of automats and research institutions. In relation to that, the type of return point is decided as some reuse systems enable automatic take-back systems whereas others rely on involved cafés or restaurants.
• Depending on the financing model and the business model of the reuse system providers, the organizational structure is shaped, sometimes in a very collaborative manner and sometimes more hierarchical with contract structures.
• Further, pilots can test different assumptions and focus on different target groups (e.g. customers, restaurants & cafés, municipalities) as well as different geographical scopes (e.g. a district, a village, a city, between cities).
• The motivations behind the design and implementation of the pilots vary, yet share the common intention of laying the foundation for long-term infrastructure and increasing the reuse rate in the to-go sector.
• Finding out which obstacles hinder customers from participating in reuse systems is another interest of inquiry as well as effective and efficient designs for the system (how many return points, how do these have to be distributed etc.). The obstacles faced by gastronomy establishments are also of interest in terms of ordering, cleaning, billing, and informing consumers.
• Another interest of some pilots is the design of communication measures and their impact on raising awareness among consumers and gastronomic businesses. In some pilots, the (eco-)efficiency of the infrastructure and the previous disposable waste are also assessed.
• While the feasibility of cross-system return logistics has been demonstrated in the past, the focus now shifts to optimising logistics for economic competitiveness and environmental benefits over disposable packaging. Nevertheless, implementation challenges of circular systems are still extensive so that a successful execution of pilot projects already signifies notable progress in advancing sustainable packaging practices

In order to do so, two main approaches to structuring cross-sectoral returns were identified

• collaboration with large chains operating multiple branches simplifies large-scale pilots and
• pilots in smaller municipalities facilitate the integration of multiple steps in the infrastructure, thus resembling a real-world experiment.
• Both approaches present distinct challenges in acquisition and educational and communicative efforts. As there is a low usage of reusable alternatives for out-of-home consumption at this point, successful implementation of a return infrastructure requires accompanying communication measures aimed at boosting overall usage rates, such as social media campaigns and on site measures.
• Additionally, long-term financing remains a challenge, with current funding limited to short-term support, hindering sustainability and scalability.
• Finally, documentation of insights, including infrastructure setup, collection frequency, and transportation methods, is crucial for future replication and improvement and can be supported by academic institutions.

📣 For everybody who wants to learn how common return infrastructure for the take-back of reusable packaging used in HORECA (take-away sector) can work and what is important to consider.

🌎 The document includes data and information from Germany. Language is German.

⏰Published in March 2024.

💻 Download for free at the website of Mehrwegverband Deutschland e.V..  

Fourth edition of Zero Waste Europe's annual report on zero waste municipalities, noting cities that support reusable packaging such as Berlin and Paris (Reuse Vanguard project) and Tallinn (reuse at public events).

Zero Waste Cities is the Zero Waste Europe's /(ZWE) programme dedicated to help cities and communities transition towards zero waste. It publishes an annual report "The State of Zero Waste Municipalities Report" on cities taking part in the programme. The annual report showcases the progress that continues to be made on Zero Waste Cities in Europe, and around the world. The fourth edition was published for 2023 (45 pages). 2023 the number of zero waste cities in Europe grew to nearly 500 now.

Reuse and the support and use of reusable packaging is ONE measure, out of many others, to reduce waste on city level, e.g. by supporting reusable packaging at events hosted by cities. The last year edition (2022) sets a spotlight on good practices as regards reusable packaging. This edition has not such a focus, however also includes hints on cities who do support the implementation of reusable packaging, e.g. :

• Berlin and Paris who take part in the Reuse Vanguard Projekt (RSVP) to implement city-wide reuse systems for takeaway food and beverage packaging
• Jakarta, Indonesia, who implemented the Reuse Protocol at the Jakarta Music Festival.
• Across the Celebes Sea, and during Zero Waste Month in January, the Mother Earth Foundation (Philippines) held the Organics Fair and Launch of the 3 R's (Refill, Reuse, Repair) Programme in Quezon City.
• Tallinn (Estonia), decided to implement measures ahead of the national regulation and has begun enforcing reuse in all its public events.

 📣 The document includes the state of the art, an overview and best practice cases from European cities as regards Zero Waste policy, including the reuse of packaging.

🌎 The document includes examples from cities on European level. Language is English.

⏰ Published in April 2024.

💻 Download for free at the website of Zero Waste Cities.

JRC study "Exploring the environmental performance of alternative food packaging products in the European Union": six case studies where reusable cups, boxes, glass bottles and dine-in tableware beat single-use in most impact categories, while a reusable PET bottle scores worse than an aluminium can.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) has published in February 2024 the long awaited study applying the life cycle analysis methodology (LCA) in order to compare and assess reusable and single use packaging in different scenarios. The study with the title "Exploring the environmental performance of alternative food packaging products in the European Union" is seen as the study to prepare the decision on Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and as the official answer to some studies prepared by the single use industry (Mc Donald, paper industry, etc.).

The research incorporated six case studies, categorised into four scenarios evaluating the environmental impacts of both single use and reusable packaging products (called multiple use packaging), including packaging used in the hotel, restaurant and catering sector, such as cups, trays, beverage containers, and glass bottles used for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. In addition, the study assessed the environmental performance of single use and multiple use packaging in a dine-in restaurant case study. The following scenarios were investigating (including short summary of results): 

• Scenario 1: Reusable cups (polypropylene) in 15 cycles compared with single use cups (cardboard + LDPE coating) for drinks to-go and the assumption (“not every reusable cup is returned”) -> Reusable cups are better than single use in 13 categories, in 4 categories worse (climate change, ecotoxicity freshwater and 2 x resource use (fossil and mineral).
• Scenario 2A: The same for food to-go -> similar results like for cups
• Scenario 2B: Reusable box (polypropylene) with 15 cycles compared to single use aluminium box with cardboard lid -> reusable box is better than single use in 15 categories, in 2 categories worse (resource use, fossil and mineral)

Note:

• In all three scenarios, electricity and transport has the largest (negative) effect on reusable packaging.
• Planets Reuse assessment: for both the impacts will be smaller in the future or can be influenced (shorter transport routes and use of renewable energies are important).
• It has to be noted that transport with private cars (to bring the bottles/containers back) is taken into account. On average 2.5 km. This explains the poor results in climate chance and resource use as one of the decisive factors. This transport needs to be reduced.
• Water, often argued to be used a lot to wash reusable packaging, plays a minor role, as water consumption is also very high in the production of cardboard in all three scenarios (box or/and lid).
• Scenario 3A: Reusable PET bottle in 10 cycles with single use aluminium cans for drinks (beer, cola, etc.) -> the reusable PET bottle is worse in 10 categories, better only in 7. In the category "MRD" (=resource use, minerals and metals) the impact is over 20,000% higher for PET bottles. This is mainly related to the recycling content. 75% is assumed for aluminium and only 7% for PET bottles.
• Scenario 3B: Reusable glass bottle in 20 cycles with single use glass bottle for beer -> reusable bottle is significantly better in 16 categories, exception is the category land use
• Scenario 4: Reusable glass bottle for wine with 20 cycles with single glass bottle -> similar result as for beer
• Scenario 5: “Hamburger menu eaten in-house” reusable plates and cups (both PP) in 100 cycles compared to single use cardboard boxes for hamburgers, cardboard for french fries and paper cups for drinks -> reusable set is significantly better in 15 categories, in 2 worse (ionizing radiation and freshwater toxicology).

Note: for all scenarios: the resource use categories are influenced a lot by the recycling content taken into account. Assumptions are: for aluminium 75%, for glass 34%, for PET bottles 7%, for PP and cardboard 0%.

📣 The study is providing new LCA data from an objective institute valid for the European market.

🌎 The data is provided for European level. Language is English. 

⏰ Published in February 2024 as preliminary results.

💻 Link to the study is provided at the website of the JRC.  

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0), under the European Commission's reuse policy (Decision 2011/833/EU), as stated on page 2 of the report.

German consumer survey by HWR Berlin and SRH with the Mehrwegverband on reusable take-away packaging: cafés are where reuse is most noticed, bring-your-own is the most used option, and forgetting is the first reason for not returning.

Accordingly, at the beginning of 2023 in Germany, a Packaging Act was introduced to ensure reusable packaging becomes an alternative in the take away sector for consumers. Despite the benefit that 490,000 tons of CO2 would not be emitted if SUP were replaced by reusable packaging, the packaging act, however, cannot guarantee that consumers will make use and re-use the reusable alternatives to the extent necessary.

Therefore academic researchers from the Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR Berlin), SRH University of Applied Science, partner with Mehrwegverband Deutschland e.V. and Mehrweg.Einfach.Machen to explore the reality of reusable packaging in the take away sector in Germany from consumers’ perspective. A survey was launched including question on the knowledge, availability and practicability of reusable packing both including bring-your-own option and on using reusable packaging systems are borrowed using apps or a deposit and are returned after use. These are the results:

• The availability of RP influences the reuse behavior, obviously. In take away sector, Café is the first place where (49.8% of) our participants have noticed RP options possible, followed by Fast-food restaurants (41.9%), and Canteen (28.8%)
• A great part of the participants of the survey desire more action to support reusable packaging, in particular incentivising it and a strong desire for government and businesses to support consumers in a better way.
• Regarding reusable systems, the highest ranking schemes by number of users belong to the "Bring your own packaging" option (50%), followed by the With-deposit, and finally, the Without-deposit.
• It seems that without-deposit systems (using App) derived a better return likelihood than systems with deposit (37% over 28%). Notwithstanding, in the event not returned, very likely the reusable packaging was simply stacked somewhere (40-50%)
• Reasons for not returning a reusable packaging: the top reason for them to not return the reusable packaging is: Forget, followed by Lazy, Repurpose, and last but not least, due to return complication (e.g. return option too far away).
• When it comes to design of the reusable packaging: Most people marked eco-friendliness as the first rank (44%) followed by convenience (35%), durability (13%), deposit (5%), and aesthetics (3%)

The researchers note, that the survey was answered mainly be people who have a strong knowledge already on the use of reusable packaging. To get a more balanced picture the inclusion of users out of the "reuse bubble" would be necessary.

📣 The investigation is valuable for everybody who wants to know the perspective of consumers when using reusable packaging for take-away food and beverages. The survey was conducted in Germany, however results might be transferable to other countries.

🌎 The survey was conducted in Germany. Language is English. 

⏰ Published in February 2024 as preliminary results.

💻 Link to the study is included in a linked in post. 

sykell's 2023 impact report on the German take-away reuse system EINFACH MEHRWEG: 1.2 million single-use packages replaced and an externally verified LCA including washing and logistics.

The Impact Report 2023 from sykell sets new standards in the reusable packaging industry, bringing clarity to the sector by debunking widespread myths and countering the arguments of the single-use industry with solid facts.

By providing a detailed overview of the ecological impacts and operations of the large-scale reusable system in Germany, EINFACH MEHRWEG, sykell aims to foster a culture of transparency in the industry. The report offers transparency regarding the ecological impacts of EINFACH MEHRWEG and covers environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects at sykell. It aligns with the structure of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and pertains to the year 2023, the first operational year of EINFACH MEHRWEG.

Ecological Impact

In 2023, the use of EINFACH MEHRWEG replaced 1.2 million single-use packages, leading to savings of 44,800 kg of waste, 32,600 kg of CO2e emissions, and 658,000 liters of water. sykell was the first company in Germany to conduct an externally verified Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for a reusable system in the takeaway sector, including washing and logistics, based on real data from EINFACH MEHRWEG.

The verified LCA compares the environmental impact of EINFACH MEHRWEG with 50 reuses against 50 single-use packages made of paper or plastic. After 50 uses, EINFACH MEHRWEG reduces waste by 91% and water consumption by 74%. Even after just 3 uses, EINFACH MEHRWEG shows environmental advantages over single-use packaging in terms of waste and water consumption. Regarding greenhouse gas emissions, EINFACH MEHRWEG avoids 57% of CO2e emissions compared to plastic packaging and 25% compared to paper packaging after 50 uses. These results demonstrate that reusable packaging outperforms single-use in key environmental categories when correctly implemented.

This first sustainability report from sykell GmbH provides insight into processes, achievements, and challenges. In the coming years, sykell will focus on continuous improvement, measurable KPIs, and close cooperation with partners, while reporting transparently on progress.

The full 2023 Impact Report is available on the EINFACH MEHRWEG website. The syk ell sustainability team is available for any questions or feedback.

2022 edition of the Zero Waste Municipalities report with city measures supporting reuse: Tübingen's tax on single-use packaging, the reusable-only Gentse Feesten, Hamburg's green procurement, Geneva's single-use plastic ban and Paris's plastic reduction strategy.

Zero Waste Cities is the Zero Waste Europe's /(ZWE) programme dedicated to help cities and communities transition towards zero waste. It publishes an annual report "The State of Zero Waste Municipalities Report" on cities taking part in the programme. The annual report showcases the progress that continues to be made on Zero Waste Cities in Europe, and around the world. The third edition was published for 2022 (60 pages). 2022 the number of zero waste cities in Europe grew to nearly 500 now.

Reuse and the support and use of reusable packaging is ONE measure, out of many others, to reduce waste on city level, e.g. by supporting reusable packaging at events hosted by cities. The 2022 edition of the report showcases several best practices as regards reusable packaging on city level, in particular:

The tax on single-use packaging in the city of Tübingen (Germany): In January 2022, the German city of Tübingen took the pioneering steps of implementing a city wide tax on single-use plastic items, which formed just one part of a wider strategy to foster reuse within the city. Tübingen is a city in the south-west of Germany, sitting centrally within the state of Baden-Württemberg. It has a population of 90,000 on average, with a third of these being students from the city’s university

The reuse only case at the Festival in Ghent (Belgium): The ‘Gentse Feesten’ (Ghent Festival) is a 10 day, city wide festival in Ghent (Belgium) that’s organised in July every year. 2022 was the 177th edition of the festival, receiving an approximate 1.6 million visitors across the 10 days. The hugely popular festival has been experimenting with reusable cups for beverages since 1996, and made them obligatory in 2018. The 2022 example shows a best practice model of implementing reusable alternatives for both beverages and food packaging, with staggering
results.

The public procurement of the city of Hamburg (Germany): In January 2016, the Senate of Hamburg passed the resolution “Green Procurement Guidelines of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg”, or Green Procurement Guidelines for short.

"Let's bring back smart" in the city of Geneva (Switzerland): The Swiss city of Geneva is now going ahead with a ban on single-use plastics that was confirmed in its new waste law as of September 2022. The city passed the law which will result in single-use plastic eventually being banned, including these items found in restaurants (including in their delivery services), vendors offering takeaway food & drink and company canteens, as well as during all public events. From the 1st January 2025, single-use plastic plates, cutlery, cups and meal boxes can no longer be used. Between now and then, the city is supporting the actors affected by this decision to switch to reusable and bulk alternatives.

The Plastic Reduction strategy by the City of Paris (France): Inspired by the city winning the rights to host the Olympic Games in 2024, the city of Paris has enacted a broad plastic reduction strategy to remove all single-use plastics from the city by the time of this major
sporting event.

📣 The document includes the state of the art, an overview and best practice cases from European cities as regards Zero Waste policy, including the reuse of packaging.

🌎 The document includes examples from cities on European level. Language is English.

⏰ Published in February 2023.

💻 Download for free at the website of Zero Waste Cities .

Position paper coordinated by Reloop and signed by over 100 organisations during the PPWR negotiation, calling for performance criteria, shared responsibility along the value chain, high targets, transparent reporting, a role for refill and clear definitions.

100 + organisations and company joined forces in 2023 and signed a position paper on reuse organised and pulled together by reloop in order to give input to discussion on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) negotiated at this time:

The signatories call upon European co-legislators to:

• Set stringent performance criteria. To ensure that packaging labelled as “reusable” truly fits the description, clear requirements must be established. These could outline, for example, the minimum number of reuse cycles a package must undergo before it’s counted as reusable, as well as standards for durability and hygiene.
• Share responsibility throughout the value chain. Both manufacturers and final distributors are essential to making a reuse system work. Establishing clear obligations throughout the value chain to both provide and take-back reusable packaging is essential to unlocking the full potential of reuse. It’s equally important to apply targets to manufacturers and final distributors, and ensuring that these targets are met in every Member State they operate in. Consumers also have a vital part to play, as their actions are essential for ensuring that packaging is reused.
• Aim higher to ensure success. It is essential that ambitious targets be maintained, if not increased. High and long-term targets are prerequisites for incentivising innovation and securing investments in reusable packaging systems. Targets must be set high enough that the size of the reuse market is sufficient to achieve economies of scale and the resulting efficiency benefits, providing a level playing field. Expansion of sectoral coverage should also be considered as a priority, as much of the infrastructure can be shared across sectors.
• Always strive to improve. Transparency in reporting for reuse systems is essential, as is a dynamic review process that enables us to raise ambition as lessons are learned. Having mechanisms for evaluating and reporting on the performance of reusables, including key metrics like return rates, is crucial for progress. 
• Embrace refill’s role. Refill, where people fill their own containers instead of using single-use items, whether at-home or in-store, is a proven method of waste prevention and is highly complementary to reuse.
• Set clear definitions, criteria, and metrics. Given the broad range of reuse and refill models, each with its unique characteristics, it is crucial to provide precise definitions of the models included under the targets. 

📣 The document reflects the vision of the signing organisation as regards reuse legislation.

🌎 The document includes the political vision for a European level. Language is English.

⏰ Published in October 2023.

💻 Download for free at the website of Reloop.

Stora Enso survey of over 7,000 consumers in seven European countries: 77% view reuse positively, only 30% share the definition of reusable packaging, 78% would worry about hygiene.

STORA ENSO, a company working on renewable materials, conducted a survey with over 7,000 consumers aged between 18 and 64 across the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, and Sweden focussing on the preferences of the consumers as regards packaging and packaging materials. The findings are documented within a short report (10 pages):

• 77% hold a positive view on reuse
• 75%% however have the view of recycling packaging as a form of reuse, especially true with
  everyday items that are recycled at scale, such as paper
• Only 30% of consumers shared this definition of reusable packaging, highlighting generally low understanding of the concept.
• When it comes to concerns, 78% of respondents would be worried about hygiene if a product was packaged in a reusable container, and 22% agreed it would take too much effort to return packaging to the point of purchase.
• Recyclable carton packaging solutions are the preferred option across several food product categories.

📣 The short report includes the view of consumers as regards reusable packaging and packaging
material.

🌎 The short report includes the results of a survey amongst consumers in certain European countries. . Language is English.

⏰ Published in November 2023.

💻 Download for free at the website of STORA ENSO .

Reusable Packaging Association white paper for retailers on implementing reusable transport packaging: reuse models, retailer best practices, business-model variables, technologies and sustainability metrics.

Reusable transport packaging products such as pallets, bins, crates, and containers continue to see widespread implementation in the commercial distribution of goods. Reusable transportation assets are engineered and manufactured to ensure repeated and lasting uses across the supply chain featuring their recovery, return, and reuse.

The Reusable Packaging Association (RPA) therefore published a comprehensive guide (90 pages) on how reusable transport packaging can be implemented safely and efficiently in retail as there is a clear need across the industry to further understand how to incorporate and implement reusable packaging across the retailer’s supply chain to improve economic efficiencies, the resiliency of supply chain partners and the movement of goods, and help retailers improve and reach their sustainability goals of both today and for the future.
The white paper covers critical elements to help retailers and their supply chain suppliers further understand and accelerate the use of reusable transport packaging assets:

• ‘WHAT’ makes a successful reusable application, and what key business model variables should be considered in evaluating a reuse investment?
• ‘WHAT’ are global best practices and learnings from retailers when implementing and using reuse system?
• ‘WHAT’ sustainability framework and variables should be considered when evaluating a reuse system investment and the resulting sustainability impact.

The guide includes all kinds of relevant basic information and approaches to guide the implementation in retail, such as:

• Reuse models overview, type, advantages and disadvantages
• Global retailer best practices, learnings and case studies from industry
• Emerging Technologies and Business Models
• Information on emissions and waste reduction, water usage
• Sustainability strategies and reuse systems investment
• Data and the organisation of processes

Thewhite paper’s goal is to provide retail and ecommerce industry executives and management the data and essential elements to contemplate when considering the investment and implementation of reusable systems in their operations and across their supply chain partners. The paper's audience includes sustainability and procurement leadership; retail and partner executives of the manufacturing supply chain and decision makers and their teams.

 
📣 The study gives a broad understanding of how to implement reusable transport packaging in retail.

🌎 Business cases included a from companies in different countries and working worldwide. Language is English.

⏰ Published in 2023.

💻 Link to the study is can be downloaded at the website of the Reusable Packaging Association.

Recycling Netwerk Benelux review of the Belgian packaging producer-responsibility scheme, finding reusable packaging in decline and proposing ten measures such as reuse targets, eco-modulation and a reuse budget.

The Recycling Netwerk Benelux conducted a study (20 pages) evaluating the EPR system in Belgium. Background of the study is: "Waste prevention and reuse are at the top of the waste hierarchy, but have not been the focus for municipal packaging waste in Belgium. In this paper
we look at how PROs can play a vital role in prevention waste and scaling reuse systems."

While EU and Belgian legislation specifies that priority needs to be given to prevention and reuse, the Belgian policy implementation mostly focuses on collection and recycling.

In this report it is shown, that the amount of packaging and packaging waste is increasing, while the amount of reusable packaging is decreasing.

Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) such as Fost Plus, and government organisations like the Interregional Packaging Commission (IVC), should be doing as much as they can to encourage and facilitate prevention and reuse. Belgian activities on packaging waste prevention and reuse discussed in the report include:

• Companies are obliged to submit prevention plans to the IVC, but it is not public what they entail and it is unclear what the IVC does with them. It gives the impression of a bureaucratic exercise without effect or consequence;
• There is a contact point to report examples of overpackaging, but the contact point is difficult to find and there doesn’t seem to be monitoring of what is reported. It would be a miracle if any lessons are learned;
• The law states that the share of reusable packaging versus single use packaging is not supposed to go down, but nonetheless has been for the last 20 years

In order to prevent more waste, the report proposes the following measures:

1. There should be more transparency on prevention activities undertaken.
2. The prevention activities should include mandatory monitoring of outcomes.
3. Fost Plus should be required to produce a Belgian municipal packaging prevention
   plan with and on behalf of its members.
4. The eco-design support offered by Fost Plus should have a mandatory prevention and
   reuse stage.
5. The requirement for an overpackaging contact point should be renewed in the
   new accreditation for the PRO, with increased education and communication to
   consumers.
6. Like the French PRO Citeo, Fost Plus should have a mandatory budget for supporting
   the transition to reusable packaging.
7. Fost Plus should have statutory reuse targets that exceed those in the PPWR.
8. Fost Plus should implement further eco-modulation to slow the decline in reusable
   packaging, and reverse this trend to meet the reuse targets.
9. By funding communication and education campaigns for the glass bottle reuse system, Fost Plus could increase the reuse rate.
10. The potential implementation of a DRS for single-use beverage containers should be
    seen as a pathway to reuse, and such system should be designed to incorporate the
    current reuse system.

📣 The study gives an insight of the EPR scheme in Belgium. However outcome and proposals might also be valied for other countries.

🌎 The study is done for territory of Belgium. Language is English.  

⏰ Published in October 2023.  

💻 Link to the study is provided at the website of Recycling Network.   

NORSUS life cycle assessment comparing Norway's current single-use bottle and can system with a reusable PET and glass bottle system: single-use scores better on climate, energy and acidification under Norwegian long-distance conditions; the return rate is decisive.

The Norwegian Institute for Sustainable Research (NORSUS) published a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the current recycling system and an alternative reuse system for bottles in Norway (90 pages).

Baseline for the study is the national deposit return scheme for beverage packaging (single-use PET bottles and aluminium cans), which has been run for more than 20 years by Infinitum.

• The cans and bottles are returned since 1999 by the consumers through reverse vending machines.
• The collection rate for the Norwegian system is high: in 2021, the average collection rate for aluminium cans and PET bottles returned to retailer and collected for recycling was 91.6% and 93.3%.

The goal of this study is to compare this system with a system for reusable PET and glass bottles to assess under what circumstances these systems become environmentally preferable relative to each other. The study is based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology and the results are presented for four environmental impact categories. A discussion group, consisting of Infinitum, NORSUS and other organizations with expertise in reuse and recycling systems for bottles and cans have been constructed to ensure credibility of the results to ensure the quality and representativeness being modelled and the data applied.

The functional unit is defined as:

• Production
• collection and
• waste treatment of beverage containers and distribution packaging representing the market mix of containers used for distributing 1000 litres of beverage to Norwegian consumers.

The conclusion from the study is:

• single-use system performs better than the reuse system for the three impact categories; climate change, cumulative energy demand (CED) and terrestrial acidification,
• the reuse system performs best for the impact category mineral resource scarcity.
• PET bottles perform best in both systems.
• The reuse system has higher transport-related impacts than the single-use system for all impact categories analysed.
• The back-to-market return rate is crucial for calculating the average number of uses per bottle in the reuse system, and the study has documented the importance of considering realistic back-to-market rates by including all potential losses throughout the value chain.

Three different recycling modelling principles have been applied in order to address how these affect the results and conclusion:

• the Cut-off,
• the CFF (Circular Footprint Formula) and
• the System expansion_net scrap approaches.

The ranking of the systems regarding environmental performance is not affected by the choice of modelling approach. Still, the choice of modelling approach affects the calculated performance for each system:

• For the single-use system, the System expansion_net scrap approach clearly gives the best result for all the assessed impact categories
• while the CFF approach gives lowest impact for the reuse system.
• The study clearly shows that the single-use system is more sensitive to the different modelling principles compared to the reuse system, which is logic because it has a bigger material throughput being affected by recycling.

Sensitivity analyses have been carried out for climate change. They show that

• the single-use system outperforms the reuse system (as analysed in the main analysis) until its recycled content decreases to 20%.
• the reuse system must reach a collection rate near 100% in order to be able to compete with the single-use system (as analysed in the main analysis with 93% collection rate)

The study has been designed to represent Norwegian conditions with relatively long transport distances.

That means, a potential reuse system with more local sited breweries and sorting/washing facilities would give shorter transport distances which affects the related transport burdens. It is therefore important that studies are designed with realistic assumptions, and the results in this specific study should not be interpreted as valid for reuse systems in general.

📣 The study is valied for everybody seeking LCA data from the beverage industry. It is done for Norway; data included is from Norwegian beverage industry with long distances. However, methods and results are transferable to other regions.

🌎 The study is done for Norway; data included is assumed for long transport distances in
Norway. Language is English. 

⏰ Published in 2023.  

💻 Link to the study is provided at the website of NORSUS.  

Verpact's Plastic Guide (2023) setting the Dutch goal of fully fossil-free and circular packaging by 2050 and listing its reuse work: a community of practice on return logistics, the Planet Reuse platform and a reuse impact calculation tool.

Verpact is operating under the legal producer responsibility for packaging (EPR) in the Netherlands, ensuring that packaging is collected and recycled in a smart and efficient manner, and assisting producers and consumers in making circular choices and promote reuse.

In March 2023, Verpact launched The Plastic Guide in a table discussion with leaders from the plastic packaging chain.

The goal for 2050 is for all products to be completely fossil-free and circularly packaged. To reach this amongst others the following goals are described:

• 100% fossil-free: we only use recyclate and biobased raw materials
• 0% packaging and microplastics litter an d damage to people and the environment
• Reduce the use of plastic packaging by eliminating unnecessary packaging, recycling more packaging and using less packaging material
• This should not lead to product loss, because that environmental impact is greater than that of the packaging.

To work towards the goal, Verpact (and its organisations) is already working on various topics to promote and scale reusable packaging, in particular:

• Community of Practice Reuse and return logistics (KIDV)
• International platform Planet Reuse for knowledge exchange and standardisation reusable packaging (KIDV)
• Calculation tool for calculating environmental impact of reusable packaging (KIDV)

📣 The guide visualises policy goals and measures of the Dutch EPR-scheme.

🌎 The guide is made for the Netherlands. It is published in Dutch and English.

⏰Published in March 2023. 

💻 The guide can be downloaded at the website of Verpact. 

Brunel University review of 107 articles producing a framework of the environmental, economic, social and technical factors that decide whether a reusable packaging system is sustainable, and warning of rebound effects.

The College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences, Brunel University London published in the Sustainable Production and Consumption (Vol, page 126–141) a literature review and analytical framework of the sustainability of reusable packaging.

This article conducted a literature review of 107 articles in order to synthesise disparate knowledge on reusable packaging. This resulted in the development of an analytical framework of the environmental, economic, social and technical factors that influence the sustainability
of reusable packaging systems. The results of the review in a nutshell:

• Although reusable packaging may support sustainability gains, this cannot be taken for
  granted.
• To avoid unwanted circular economy rebound effects, reusable packaging systems must be carefully managed and adapted according to the context.
• Further research could build on this study by validating these findings with industry stakeholders from across the packaging value chain.
• Exploring the interrelationships between the factors in the analytical framework would also enhance our understanding of circular rebound effects in reusable packaging systems.
• It is expected that this framework will support industry stakeholders with planning the implementation and scale-up reusable packaging systems.
• In addition, several gaps in the literature were also identified, with respect to article
  focus, context, methods and content.
• In particular, it was highlighted that further research on reusable packaging is needed for B2C primary packaging applications, which have been less studied to date.
• Futureresearch should also incorporate more multidisciplinary perspectives that
  consider social dimensions.
• In order to achieve a systems transition from single-use to reusable packaging systems, greater collaboration is required between industry and academia is required. Particular perspectives which may enrich the debate include both design and policy
  research.
• Design clearly has an important role to play in enhancing the user experience of packaging products and service systems, and this academic work should be developed alongside the development of circular economy business models. Relevant design perspectives may include product-service system design, design thinking and circular design.
• Further policy research is also needed to determine practical strategies and targets which are most effective in different contexts, in order to develop an enabling ecosystem for reuse.
• Combining participatory research and policy roadmapping techniques may also lead to fruitful results.

📣 The report is of value for everybody who want to get an overview of the state of the art on research and publication for reusable packaging.

🌎 The report includes insides valid for all kind of regions. Language is English.

⏰Published in May 2023.

💻 The report is published in Sustainable Production and Consumption (Vol, page 126–141) can be downloaded as free version at the website of ELSEVIER . 

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0), as stated on page 1 of the article.

Zero Waste Europe's ReuSe Vanguard blueprint for city-scale take-away reuse systems, with five criteria (recognition, interoperability, inclusiveness, effectiveness, safety) and indicator targets such as a 90% return rate after one year and 95% after two.

The ReuSe Vanguard Project (RSVP) powered by Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) has published a blueprint on how to scale up the implementation of reuse solutions for takeaway packaging. The short document (14 pages) demonstrates the potential to set realistic reuse targets for the takeaway sector and transform Europe's packaging systems for the better! It emphasis on indicators and essential criteria how to set up reuse systems and how to measure its performance. Basis for the study are experiences from city-scale projects that implement local reuse ecosystems. 6 European cities are involved in the ReuSe Vanguard Project (Barcelona, Paris, Gent, Rotterdam, Leuven, Berlin). Plus the experience of 4 other cities doing pilot studies on reusable take-away are included (Haar, Stuttgart, Aarhus, Tallin).

Based on the experience rolled out in European cities there are 4 fixed criteria and 1 bonus criterion which make the system operationalisable and well-performing from an environmental and economic point of view:

1. Recognition: It should be ensured, that the reuse system is designed in a way that makes them recognisable and distinguishable from those which do not do so.
2. Interoperability: Even if different cities use different packaging, different interfaces, and have different operators, they should all speak the same “language” in terms of how to recognise the system. Moreover, there should be a common, simple, and user-friendly way to organise and report information and to operate such a system.
3. Inclusiveness: The system is open/designed to incorporate different packaging (e.g. takeaway bowls and cups) and potentially even different product categories (e.g. bottles or jars).
4. Effectiveness: For a system of reuse to perform environmentally and economically well , it needs to have appropriate and measurable performance rates; incentives for businesses to
   participate in the system (‘system users’) and for consumers to return the packaging;
   as well as strong guidance for pooling systems and good governance practices
   moving forward.
5. Guaranteed safety: In terms of hygiene, the system will meet the legal requirements that are already compulsory for the use, collection, washing, and distribution of any type of food
   contact materials (be it single-use or reusable). However, with current Food Contact
   Materials legislation being outdated, there is no legal system in place yet to certify
   that the materials (and the chemicals they contain) used by operators (both
   single-use and reuse) are really safe.

As effectiveness indicators the following are proposed:

• Return rates: Max. 1 year after the start of operation: min. 90% / Max. 2 years after start of operation: min. 95%
• Rotation cycles before the end of life: Max. 1 year after the start of operation: min. 10 cycles / Max. 2 years after the start: min. 20 cycles
• Retention time (to ensure financial viability): Max. 1 year after the start of operation: 14 days / Max. 2 years after the start of operation: 7 days

📣 The blueprint is valuable for everybody who develops or implements reusable packaging at scale (at city level, within a company, for a festival etc.).

🌎 The guide is based on examples from the European cities. However, results are transferable to other regions. Language is English.

⏰ Published in October 2023.

💻 Download of the guide for free at the website of Zero Waste Europe.  

Eunomia modelling of greenhouse-gas emissions of reusable versus single-use take-away packaging in Europe: cups cut emissions by at least 70% and break even after 6 rotations, bowls after 13, burger boxes 30, sushi boxes 35, pizza boxes 62 with no reduction.

Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd prepared a report focussing on climate impact of reusable takeaway packaging for TOMRA, Zero Waste Europe and reloop. The study involves modelling to measure the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from reusable takeaway packaging compared to single-use equivalents. The results indicates that, for most types of takeaway packaging used in Europe, reuse through a safe, efficient system for collection, washing, inspection, and redistribution has potential to yield greater environmental benefits than recycling or discarding single-use containers. The study also highlights key aspects to optimise in designing and operating reuse systems.

Break event points for reusable alternative:

• Burger boxes (paper)
• Pizza boxes (paper)
• Bowls (paper and plastic version)
• Sushi (paper and plastic version) 
• Cups for cold drinks (paper and plastic version) 
• Cups for warm dinks (paper)

For the cups the breakeven point is calculated at 6 rotations only (return rate = 83%), for
bowls 13 (return rate 92%). Burger boxes need 30 rotations, sushi boxes 35 and Pizza
62 rotations (all counted with a return rate of 97%).

Results can be summarised as:

• For single-use cups (for both warm and cold drinks) the reduction in GHG emissions is
  at least 70% and therefore are likely to be the most suitable items for reuse without much system optimisation.
• Reusable bowls show a 55 % reduction compared with paper and 90% compared with plastic – an item that also requires little additional improvement or optimisation.
• For sushi containers and burger boxes, reusable versions still produce lower GHG emissions in comparison to single-use options, but the difference is reduced to 20% and 13% respectively – these items could therefore benefit from improved design to increase that gap. System optimisation will be more important for these items.
• The single-use pizza boxes there is no reduction in GHG emission when using a reusable alternative.
  Further work is therefore required to improve the system and the packaging design to make reuse a viable option.

The study also describes properly all factors taken into account to do the analysis and a sensitivity analysis for all factors.

📣 The study is valuable for everybody who searches for arguments why reusable packaging should be used for takeaway better than single-use and what is connection to climate.

🌎 The guide includes examples from the European market. Language is English. 

⏰ Published in September 2023.  

💻 Download of the guide for free at the website from EUNOMIA . 

New ERA - The new reuse alliance published in Autumn 2023 a concise political statement including ten demands in order to support and scale reusable packaging. The manifesto was prepared to support the negotiations of the packaging and packaging waste regulation (PPWR) on European level. However the demands are generally valid. The manifesto can be signed by companies and organisations support reusable packaging. In January 2024 it has received over 100 supporters.

The content of the manifesto:

1. Embrace reuse systems: We envision a future where there are systems in place across Europe, with sufficient return options and logistics so that reusable packaging, supported by an adequate incentive, can be reused multiple times. We are actively working to make this a reality.
2. System design and environmental impact: Well-designed reuse systems are a key factor to mitigating major ecological consequences of our linear economy. By shifting from single-use to reusable packaging, we can minimise the amount of packaging waste, the extraction of raw materials, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and disposal of single-use packaging.
3. Driving change: We acknowledge that change starts with us. As agents of change, we commit to continuously improving our operations, supply chains, and product packaging to align with the principles of reuse and circularity. By doing so, we will inspire others to join us in embracing a sustainable and regenerative future.
4. Accessible infrastructure: We recognise the need for convenient and accessible
   infrastructure to support the return, collection, cleaning, and recycling at the end of-life of reusable packaging. We will work together on establishing a network for the collection, sorting and cleaning as well as for subsequent reverse logistics. By doing so, we enable reuse systems to scale, further improve economic and ecologic performance, and increase consumer acceptance by enabling them to easily return their packaging.
5. Collaborative approach: We believe that collaboration is key to driving meaningful change. We commit to working together with brands, retailers, consumers, organizations, and policymakers to establish and strengthen reuse systems across Europe. By fostering cooperation and knowledge sharing, we can create and expand effective solutions that benefit all stakeholders.
6. Job creation and economic growth: The transition to reuse systems offers the opportunity to create new jobs and offers economic opportunities for European businesses. This will stimulate innovation, reduce our dependence on global supply chains and support local economies, increase the resilience of businesses and contribute to sustainable economic growth.
7. Clear and ambitious legislation: By setting clear, achievable measures and providing the right incentives, policymakers can accelerate the adoption of reuse systems, create a level playing field, and drive industry-wide transformation. Legal certainty is key to boost investments towards circular business models.
8. Innovate for circularity: We will invest in research and development to drive innovation in reusable packaging design, labelling, traceability, transport, sorting and cleaning. By leveraging new technologies, materials, and designs, we aim to maximise the efficiency, durability, and user experience of reuse systems.
9. Educate and engage consumers: We understand the importance of consumer awareness and education in fostering behaviour change and making reuse systems work. We will proactively strive to highlight the environmental benefits of reusable packaging to consumers and encourage them to adopt reusable packaging in their daily habits. By doing so, we contribute to driving a collective shift towards sustainable behaviours, creating a more mindful and
   environmentally conscious society.
10. Transparent reporting: We will report regularly on our progress towards the adoption of reusable packaging, sharing for example key performance indicators, milestones achieved, or lessons learned. Through transparent reporting, we aim to inspire others, build trust, and be held accountable for our commi

📣 The document is valuable for stakeholders who want to support political discussions on reusable packaging and for those wanting an overview on what legal framework is crucial to make scaling of reusable packaging possible.

🌎 The document is targeting EU policy level. Language ist English.

⏰ Published in Autumn 2023.

💻 The reuse manifesto can be downloaded and signed (by sending a logo) at the website of New ERA .

The German Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection funded investigations, a study and the production of information material within the project "Eating in reusable packaging for climate protect". During the project a lot of information material:

• Informationsheetis, posters, etc.
• Factsheets on hygienic standards
• A study on environmental benefits
• Best practice and examples

was produces, all included with interactive links in the final brochure. Aim of the project was, to provide concise material for caterer and gastronomy but also for organisations and cities supporting the topic. As 'reusable' is a new standard, it is necessary to improve the operational processes and demonstrate the feasibility of reusable offers and

the effort required to introduce reusable offers as low as possible. With regard to the clientele, it is important to increase the motivation to promote the use of reusable containers, to increase the visibility of reusable offers and to improve their to make use as convenient as possible 

The final brochure of the project contains:

• Provide information about takeaway reusable solutions
• How to convince stakeholders from the gastronomy to offer reusable packaging
• How to increase engagement of costumers in order to use reusable packaging
• How to spread the idea of reusable packaging

Key messages are:

• The use of reusable containers can help save resources and avoid waste.
• The carbon footprint of reusable containers is compared to single-use packaging made of plastic or aluminium usually positive after 10 to 15 rounds.
• In order to minimise other environmental impacts are essential for reusable containers as many as possible.
• Disposable packaging made from renewable raw materials (such as wheat bran or palm leaves) are not meaningful.
• The use of reusable containers usually pays off not only ecologically, but also economically.
• Both the use of customer-owned containers and the provision of reusable boxes by the company are hygienically permitted and, if the relevant rules are observed, harmless.

📣 The study is valuable for all who want to implement reusable packaging in the take-away sector, particularly in gastronomy.

🌎 The report includes insights to German legislation and market, however it also includes general aspects, e.g. on how to increase costumer involvement. Language is German

⏰ Published in July 2022.

💻 Download of the guide can be downloaded for free at the website of Essen in Mehrweg.

Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy in collaboration with the U.S. Plastics Pact, published a study on customer behavior toward reuse in the U.S. The report (26 pages) aims to understand customer attitudes, preferences and behaviours around reusable and refillable packaging solutions to help companies, cities and other key stakeholders navigate the current reuse landscape.  

Understanding customer preferences is crucial for implementing successful reuse solutions. 

The Center’s Reuse Insights Lab conducts qualitative and quantitative research and data
analytics through in-market testing, Testing of reusable packaging is ongoing since 2018. 

Research was conducted via focus groups and customer interviews, surveys and insights from 16 innovators participating in the U.S. Plastics Pact’s Reuse Catalyst Program. Rather than asking customers what they would do, they were asked, what they already to avoid the “intention-action gap”. 

The report shares five key insights distilled from these real-world customer experiences: 

1. Ongoing education and clear communication are vital to familiarize customers with reuse logistics and enable adoption on a larger scale. 
2. Technology can simplify reuse tracking—particularly on the backend—but too many tech hurdles on the frontend can overwhelm customers. 
3. Tthoughtful design choices that balance utility, sustainability and appeal are key for reuse systems to achieve their intended impact. 
4. Choice and availability of reuse options help customers feel empowered to participate. 
5. Reuse solutions that meet customers where they are rather than demanding perfection are most likely to support long-term habit formation. 

Achiving high return rates for reusable packaging is key to successful adoption. Without high returns, reuse models will struggle to achieve their intended environmental impact. However,
with customers at various stages in their reuse journey, building reuse habits takes time. As brands and retailers increasingly look to reuse models as a core sustainability strategy, this timely report provides data-driven guidance on how to successfully scale reusable packaging by understanding customer perspectives and meeting customer needs. 

📣 The study is valuable for or players in the reusable packaging value chain, how want get insights on what costumer think (and do) about reusable packaging.  

🌎 The report includes concise summaries and insights of the study. I is made for U.S market, however results are general enough to be adopted to other markets. Language ist English. 

⏰ Published in January 2024.  

💻 Download of the guide can be downloaded for free at the website of Closed Loop.

The Global Plastics Policy Center of the University of Portsmouth commissioned by the Break Free From Plastic movement published a study (90 pages) which consolidates 320 articles and papers, plus 55 new interviews with reuse experts from around the world, to suggest a universal definition of reuse systems and, for the first time, assess how all nations can move away from throw-away packaging.

The study was prepared to guide the negotiations of the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-2), which took place from 29 May to 2 June 2023 at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Headquarters in Paris, France. 

The report contains information on: 

• Definition of the reuse system approach 
• Background information on plastics over-production and a linear economy  
• Reuse as a remedy  
• Flawed linear solutions for plastic waste Reuse systems: sector by sector  
• Reuse return system: The end-of-use point  
• Materials for reusable packaging  
• Drivers for breaking the linear model  
• Enablers and barriers to the adoption of reuse systems  
• Multinational companies as enablers of reuse systems  
• Policy options for reuse and to support the transition to reuse systems  

The research presented in the report demonstrates that there is no single universally applicable reuse system. Instead, reuse systems need to be tailored by business
sector and socio-economic context. We propose that the transition to reuse, in which reusable packaging becomes the new norm across multiple sectors, requires: leadership and advocacy for the upscaling of reuse systems is critical. It is important that the current linear economic approach is challenged and an alternative solution is available;

• recognition that reuse is a systems solution that requires a coherent policy approach from government, across industries sectors and geographies to provide a favourable environment for public and private sector investment;
• the introduction of internationally coherent reuse standards including an agreed definition of reuse and standardisation of packaging. Standardiation should include the size and shape of reusable packaging,
• labelling, tagging, washing, and required hygiene levels to avoid the development of isolated silos of reuse;
• an inclusive and collaborative approach to ensure an accessible, affordable and just transition to reuse occurs, involving all stakeholders and beneficiaries, with equity,
  inclusivity and transparency as key considerations to ensure no adverse consequences;
• raising awareness and knowledge of reuse systems for consumers to support public buy-in and to build population memory of reuse systems, to reduce anxiety
  or reluctance to engage with reuse systems;
• the development of reuse hubs that service the needs of reuse systems through providing collection, washing, replenishment, and redistribution services, along with robust data collection systems to ensure accurate monitoring of reuse system performance.
  Resource pooling and multi-stakeholder cooperatives can build the capacity and efficiency for upscaling all reuse systems, while providing local employment opportunities, including for informal waste workers.  

 📣 The study is relevant for everybody who wants to get an overview of reuse definition, solution, policy options and open research issues on reusable packing at global scale.

🌎 The study has an international focus, including interviews and examples from all continents. Language of the publication is English. 

⏰ Published in May 2023.  

💻 Download for free at the website of the Global Pastics Policy Center .

WRAP, a climate action NGO established in the UK in 2000 and working in 40+ countries, conducted in partnership with Asda and Unilever a study (65 pages) about the behaviour of citizens around reuse and refill. Within the study, research participants across the whole of their shopping journey were shadowed. From pre-shop preparation to instore experience, it was evaluated how the trial participants interacted with refill zones and developed and tested a series of instore behaviour change interventions. All designed to improve the reuse and refill shopping experience for our participants. A two-phase semi-ethnographic qualitative approach was applied to the research. The methodology included conducting two field-based investigations into citizen behaviours, desk-based research to review existing evidence from 46 sources and developing instore interventions grounded in behavioural change theory. 

As a conclusion, three strategies that retailers can apply instore to help shoppers try reuse and refill - and keep them coming back are identified.   

1. Make pricing clear: Participants told that they wanted to see clear communication of price differences between packaged and refill products to help them make purchasing decisions. After better understanding value differences, participants realised they could save money and felt motivated to try reuse and refill.
2. Help people overcome uncertainty and apprehension: Well-located and easy to understand step-by-step guidance on how to use the equipment helped to reassure participants trying out reuse and refill for the first time. Providing clear and noticeable advertising and signage that stands out helped raise awareness and guided participants to the refill zone.  Having staff on hand to help also eased any uncertainty when entering the refill zone for the first time
3. Make the experience fun and enjoyable: Promotional brand activities with a staff presence were successful in creating an enjoyable experience and exciting atmosphere at the refill zone which drew shoppers in. Having people around made the zone feel more approachable and provided reassurance that it is being used by others. This also helped normalise the zone, making it more attractive to shoppers.

Beside the full study, also a video (30 minutes) is provided explaining the results of the study.

📣 The study is relevant for everybody who wants to deep dive into costumer behaviour for refill and reuse solutions.

🌎 The study is prepared in the UK, tailored to UK market situation. However results can be transferred to other countries. Language of the publication is English.

⏰ Published in October 2022.

💻 Download for free at the website of WRAP. At the same page, the video providing key outline and findings of the study is provided.

Briefing paper of the World Economic Forum’s Consumers Beyond Waste initiative (September 2021) summarising three community papers on reuse.

The World Economic Forum’s Consumers Beyond Waste initiative is part of its Platform for Shaping the Future of Consumption. This 11-page briefing paper of September 2021 summarises three community papers released the same month: the City Playbook, the Design Guidelines and the Safety Guidelines.

City Playbook. The paper describes it as “an action-oriented framework intended to guide municipal officials and local actors in their efforts to develop reusable packaging models”.

Design Guidelines. They are addressed to designers, materials scientists, packaging engineers and reuse-system providers. They are organised around the four reuse models defined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation: refill at home, refill on the go, return from home and return on the go. The full Design Guidelines are a separate document in this library.

Safety Guidelines. They cover public health and safety in reusable packaging systems. The paper notes that packaging standards for food and beverages are much stricter than for skincare and cosmetics.

The paper ends with the initiative’s next steps: knowledge-sharing sessions and pilot programmes in selected markets.

The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management has requested Mission Reuse to
conduct a study on the following research question: What is needed to set up cost- and environmentally efficient reverse logistics in the Netherlands, in order to bring reusable packaging to scale? Mission Reuse has conducted several interviews with reuse experts from different domains to

• analyse existing reverse logistics models and their leverage points and,
• give recommendations to the government in how to implement the learnings from existing reverse logistics models to bring reuse to scale in the Netherlands.

The result of this investigation is outlined in a report (57 pages). Below, the most important overall findings from this study are summarized:

• four reverse logistics models emerged in the research: B2B and B2C pooling models (e.g. pallets, crates and beverage glass bottles), independent B2C infrastructure and third-party dependent B2C infrastructure
• there is not a single most suitable, efficient reverse logistics model, since this strongly depends on the type of asset, user, asset provider as well as the context in which the assets are
  being used and returned
• efficient reverse logistics processes leverage existing logistics flows and use space-efficient assets
• returns should be incentivized and facilitated for the end-consumer to keep the reusable asset in the loop for multiple use-cycles, and actually make reuse more sustainable.
• reusable assets are often used to save on raw material and packaging costs, rather than generating revenue
• managed pooling systems, involving multiple parties jointly owning and using universal assets, are effective to minimise environmental impact.
• standardising assets is crucial for reducing cleaning and logistics costs. A diverse range of packaging requires sorting and the adjustment of cleaning programs.

The report is structured in:

1. background sections explaining the assets and infrastructure needed to set up a reverse logistic for reusable packaging

2. explaining the four reverse logistic models and general insides

3. inspirational cases of reverse logistics models and in particular the collaboration between different players of the logistic chain (e.g. DHL/budbee x H&M, Gorillas x Vytal, Dynalogic x Pieter Pott, and others)

4. explaining the design of collection points and take back machines

5. and recommendation for policy

Best practice for reverse logistic model can be summarised boiling down to the following aspects:

• Leveraging reverse logistics processes of home-delivery parties to return reusable packaging can make reuse more appealing to customers and create potential additional revenue streams for logistics companies.
• The point at which a reusable asset is returned by the consumer is crucial in making the asset more sustainable than single use. A high return rate can be promoted with the right incentives as
  well as an easy return process (e.g. by using collection machines).
• Transaction costs for returning deposits can be a significant expense. These transaction costs can be avoided by offering alternative return incentives, such as vouchers, discounts on future
  purchases or depositing funds onto a card.
• Collection machines for reusable packaging exist in many forms and can offer fast service and a wide variety of return incentives to fit the context. These machines can offer on-site sorting of
  waste streams to simplify reverse logistics and, if located in frequently visited areas, increase return willingness.
• Bundling delivery services with special requirements, such as food products, can create economies of scale and achieve logistical and financial efficiency.
• Central drop-off locations for the delivery and pick-up of e-commerce packaging reduces the environmental impact of last-mile transportation, while also making pick-up convenient for the
  consumer.

Governments can play a role in bringing reuse to scale in three ways, being facilitating, funding and incentivizing these reverse logistics infrastructure. Governments can:

• enable reverse logistics to grow and scale through policy measures: policy makers can encourage using less disposable packaging and more reusable packaging by introducing prevention and reuse targets, take-back obligations and other incentives (possibly covered by an EPR scheme).
• facilitate standardization processes with market players: these type of models may need a neutral facilitator to be set up and have proven viability at scale, even on a European level. Pooling systems generally require minimal maintenance due to their self-regulating
  nature and standards and agreements that all participants have agreed upon
• financially support the market in making reverse logistics more viable: by facilitating the convenient and efficient collection of reusable packaging, especially in B2C models in which collection often is a limiting factor in scaling up. This support can help B2C models
  scale up and encourage B2C reuse initiatives.

📣 The guidance is relevant for all who want to inform about reverse logistic needed for reusable packaging getting inspired by existing examples. It is also targeting decision makers from policy and
legislation.

🌎 The report is tailored to the legislative and market situation in the Netherlands. However, results can be transferred. Language of the publication is English.

⏰ Published in January 2023.

💻 Download for free at the website of the Dutch Ministry of Environment .

Breanna Herbert, Product Manager-Automotive at Orbis is presenting together with the Reusable
Packaging Association at PACK EXPO 2023 (Las Vegas, USA) how to apply the method of Packaging Life Cycle Assessment (PLCA) for reusable packaging in the context of B2B packaging (pallets, crates, boxes) for automotive and other industries. Packaging Life Cycle Assessment (PLCA) involves the study of how packaging impacts the environment, from raw material to end-of-life. It is critical to use life-cycle data to accurately compare reusable packaging to single-use packaging within the supply chain. The presentation outlines the following aspects:  

• how to analyse your system to accurately compare and evaluate reusable and single-use packaging options, 
• the factors that are required for an accurate life-cycle analysis, including shipping distance, packaging type, number of turns, 
• best practices in reporting and measuring the environmental impact of reusable packaging, 
• data type you need to collect and evaluate in order to apply the concept of PLCA (total packaging fleet, product type, packaging material type, recycled content in %, weight, parts per shipment, truckload quantity, trip distance and turns, programme life, end of life plan)  

📣 The presentation gives general insides of using the method of Packaging Life Cycle Assessment (PLCA) for reusable packaging with examples for B2B packaging (crates, pallets, boxes).  

🌎 The presentation is targeted for worldwide audience. Language is English. 

⏰Published in November 2023.  

💻 The video is available at youtube.

Zero Waste Europe published a factsheet on the updated Estonian Packaging Act (September 2023), which implements the Europea Single-Use Plastic Directive (SUP).

The law is broad in its scope, aiming to tackle the consumption of single-use plastics but also to incentivise the use of reusable materials, rather than the substitution of single-use plastics with another single-use material. The Packaging Act also includes measures to stipulate reuse, focussing in particular on public event:

• only reusable containers and cutlery for serving food and drinks at public events will be allowed
• also it is forbidden to use food packaging made of expanded polystyrene to serve ready meals, Styrofoam beverage packaging; Polystyrene drinking cups; single-use plastic cutlery (knives, forks, spoons, chopsticks), plates, drinking straws, stirrers, and balloon stems
• single-use biodegradable or bio-based plastic products are also prohibited
• an important definition outlined in the law is that, if a product is made of cardboard but covered with a layer of plastic, then it will be classified as a plastic product and subject to the restrictions now enforced in Estonian law

📣 For all who search for legal measures and examples of implementation within EU countries; here in particular reusable packaging for public events.

🌎 The factsheet includes a summary of the updated law in Estonia. Language of the publication is English. 

⏰ Published in September 2023.  

💻 Download for free at the website of Zero Waste Europe. 

Researchers from the University of Sheffield and the University of Bristol published in Geoforum 145(2023) a scientific paper with he title "Understanding national variations in reusable packaging: Commercial drivers, regulatory factors, and provisioning systems". Within the study the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) approach was applied to analyse three national examples of reuse in Denmark, Germany, and Mexico. While the success of reuse initiatives is often attributed to heightened levels of environmental consciousness, the researcher argue that understanding national variations in levels of reuse requires greater attention to the commercial drivers, regulatory factors, and provisioning systems in which they arise. The case studies focus on the beverage sector in the three national contexts – specifically beer, mineral water, and soft drinks. Aim of the study is to learn and transfer the implications for the UK, where reuse levels remain comparatively low.

Resuts for Denmark

• Despite formal political justifications emphasising environmental consideration in overriding market forces and preventing one-way packaging entering the market, vested commercial interests within the incumbent regime were key to maintaining high levels of reuse.
• With the domestic market vulnerable to growing international competition, the formation of political coalitions between firms and policymakers established a core alliance for regime level resistance and the stabilisation of existing structures.
• Despite commercial interests being reframed into societal goals and rules implemented by the Danish Government, monopolistic practices and economic protectionism were eventually challenged by supra-national (EU) forces and commercial actors rather than by any radical change in environmental consciousness.

Resuts for Germany

• The historically contingent elements of provisioning systems, particularly the cooperative model of wholesale and pool bottle management, are aligned with the commercial interests of regional beverage producers.
• This has created a level of reproduction or ‘lock-in’, due to vested interests and mutual role expectations between small- to medium-sized businesses and reuse infrastructures, representing a level of ‘organisational capital’ that reaffirms the regime.
• The decline in reuse rates can be attributed to a particular retail sector transferring to single-use because of the perceived economic and structural advantages associated with the centralisation of production.
• Despite regulatory interventions that attempted to resist regime transformation, the lack of regulatory policy impact can be evidenced through the need to establish organisations to push for stricter and more binding rules for systems of reuse.

Results for Mexiko

• It demonstrates that in the absence of significant regulatory intervention, reuse plays a key role in maintaining beverage manufacturers ’s commercial competitiveness.
• Following a decline in reuse levels between 1996 and 2003, reuse has increased and entered a period of stability.
• A strategic coalition between beverage manufacturers and retailers (independent ‘mom and pop’ stores) are highlighted, in facilitating the growth of soft drink products in Mexico, with reuse offering a price point advantage and access to poorer consumers.

📣 The scientific includes three examples how reuse packaging systems in the beverage industry, highlighting the differences in historical developments. It is interesting for anybody who want to deep dive into the history of reuse systems and how systems develop under different framework conditions.
🌎 The scientific paper includes investigations in three countries (Denmark, Germany and Mexiko. Language of the publication is English.
⏰ Published in October 2023.
💻 Download for free at the website of Elsevier/Science Direct .

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0), as stated on page 2 of the article.

A table of washing service providers and reusable-packaging rental offers in Germany, started by Mehrwegverband Deutschland and kept up to date with WWF Deutschland (list dated October 2026). In German.

Mehrwegverband Deutschland states that the overview helps event organisers, municipalities and other users to find suitable reuse solutions and services. The table was drawn up by members of the association’s washing-infrastructure working group. The work was led by the packaging-reduction advice centre set up at the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE).

Each entry gives the provider’s location and contact, and the containers it can wash: glass jars and bottles, plastic and stainless-steel cups and food containers, porcelain, crates and pallets. It also shows services such as sorting, removing lids, drying, storage and transport. According to the notice in the table, the providers entered their own data.

The October 2026 list has 24 entries for 23 companies. Two are based outside Germany, in France and Belgium. 19 entries wash plastic take-away cups with lids and 18 wash stainless-steel cups. One washes glass beer bottles with wet-glue labels.

Sorting is done by hand in 21 entries, and inspection by hand in 22. 17 entries state a hygiene process (HACCP) throughout, 16 follow the DIN 10510–10512 standards for commercial dishwashing, and 8 can read container identification codes.

ReLondon is a partnership of the Mayor of London and London’s boroughs to improve waste and resource management in the capital and accelerate the transition to a low carbon circular city. Conducting a great variations of projects focussing on circular economy, ReLondon published insights on packagings-free (refill) grocery shopping in the city of London. They also map the possibilities to do shopping with refillable or pre-filled reusable packaging in London.
According to ReLondon:

• 67% of the Londonder are concerned about the environmental impact of single-use food and dring packaging
• 66% want to reduce the amount of single use packaging they use when buying food and drink products
• 10% are influenced by reduced single-use packaging in their decision making about where they do their grocery shopping

Reusable packaging does not (yet) fulfill all the needs and wants of the Londoners which are:

• low prices/value for money products
• available close to home/work
• speed and ease of shopping
• size of the product range

📣 The report shows figures to buy grocery in refillable packages or prepacked reusable packaging in the city of London and includes data from an survey with Londons inhabitants. The short study provide insight in particular valuable for administration and cities working on city level.
🌎 The report is providing insight on the situation in the city of London. Language is English.
⏰ Published in April 2022.
💻 Download for free at the website of ReLondon.

Ellen MacArthur published in cooperation with Systemiq and Eunomia and more than 60 supporting organisations in November 2023 a comprehensive report on how to scale reusable packaging including a lot of examples from all sectors. The key takeaways are: :

• reuse systems need to be significantly and urgently scaled to achieve a future where plastic never becomes waste.
• Over the past five years, there has been some momentum across the industry – the existing pilots are a step in the right direction.
• Reusable packaging can compete with single-use packaging if done right.

The 5 steps to kick-start the reuse revolution are

1. Recognize the huge potential for reusable packaging to tackle plastic pollution
2. Collaborate amongst business, policy, financial institutions and the civil society
3. Invest in shared reuse infrastructure
4. Demonstrate what is possible through large scale pilots
5. Regulate and make legally binding rules; voluntary action is not enough

📣 The report explains how to scale reusable packaging and applies advanced modeling that quantifies the performance of return models under certain conditions. The System Change scenario depicts a long-term vision for optimised return models. socio-economic impact of reusable packaging on a general level. The study is focussing at four sectors: beverages, fresh food, personal care and food cupboard items (e.g. rice, pasta).
🌎 The report is not tailored to any specific region. It includes examples and cases studies from different countries and an emphasis on EU legislation. Language is English.

⏰ Published in November 2023.

💻 Download for free at the website of Ellen MacArthur Foundation: Unlocking a reuse revolution

58 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) researchers from all over Europe have written an open letter to express their concerns about industry-funded studies which are being used to influence the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).

"We are particularly worried about the lack of the use of a clear, transparent, and scientific methodology in these studies where the environmental impacts of single-use and reusable packaging options are
assessed. We stress the importance of transparency of scope and data, as well as of evaluating the choices and influence of selected parameters for the weight of reusable products, their washing logistics and their transport. We emphasise that studies which compare single-use options with static one reuse scenario are misleading. Instead, impact assessments should assess break-even points (i.e. where single-use and reusable packaging systems are considered to have the same impact). As the negotiation on reuse targets and bans on single use in the PPWR continue, we would like to strongly advise that decisions be based on truly independent, transparent research which respects the recommendations set out in our letter.”

The objective of this discussion paper is to draw attention to some of the challenges associated with Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) that compare reusable packaging with single-use options, specifically focusing on the demanding take-away sector, which presents unique complexities for implementing reuse practices. By comparing two recent studies commissioned by the European Paper Packaging Alliance (EPPA) and McDonald's—both of which aim to challenge the

case for reuse in the take-away sector—with an academic paper, we illustrate how analysis of the same issue can be approached differently to yield conflicting results. The key assumptions underlying these differences are identified, helping readers comprehend how these contrasting perspectives are achieved.

⏰ Published in July 2023 

💻 Download for free at Reloop platform: Unveiling the Complexities: Exploring LCAs of Reusable Packaging in the Take-Away Sector 

Searious Business in collaboration with Zero Waste Europe and the Reuse Vanguard Project published ar report that examines three packaging categories in an open loop system (so not within one location), in Spain as an archetype country:

1. food containers for takeaway food,
2. transport packaging and
3. beverage bottles.

The results show that reuse packaging will only become even more economically viable in the next few years and providing faster return on investments. 

📣 The study includes numbers and modeling on reusable packaging in three sectors. It is interesting for stakeholders, who are interested how reusable systems evolve over time and what the key parameters for scaling are.
🌎 The report is available in English, Dutch, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Estonian and Montenegrian.
⏰ Published in July 2023.
💻 Download for free at the website of Zero Waste Europe.

Note: Planet Reuse conducted a webinar with the authors of this study in 2023. You can find the debrief and recording of the webinar in the "Recording and Insight" section.

In its report "Mehrweg in der deutschen Gastronomie" (100 pages), WWF publishes a stocktaking of the reusable supply obligation in Germany and publishes data from practice for the first time.
The main results at a glance:

• < 0.7% is the reusable share in the German take-away gastronomy 2022.
• ~ 4% is the share of to-go drinks spent in reusable containers
• for food it was even only 0.1%
• the food sector with pizza boxes, plates, bowls, to-go boxes, sauce bowls, etc.. causes almost 80% of the gastronomic packaging volume
• a total of 13.3 billion disposable packages were distributed in 2022 in the German gastronomy for food and beverages, which corresponds to 254.000 tons of packaging waste
• compared with only 134 tons of reusable packaging in the catering sector
• the inventory shows how big the gap is between everyday habits and future reusable targets and that there is a lot of potential here 

📣 The report is aimed at all those seeking facts and figures for the use of rreusable packaging in the to-go/take-away sector compared with single-use packaging.

🌎 The figures refer to Germany and the facts to EU and DE legislation. The report is written in German.

⏰ Published in February 2023.

💻 Free download on the page of the WWF.  

Speakers:

- Larissa Copello de Souza, Consumption and Production Campaigner at Zero Waste Europe.

- Patricia Megale Coelho, previously researcher on reusable packaging at Utrecht University, and currently Circular Business Strategy Consultant at Circle Economy and one of the co-initiators of Planet Reuse.

3 key insights about Legislation
1. Rules for refill and criteria for “systems for re-use”: The European Commission has recently published proposal on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) that contains a set of rules for refill and criteria for “systems for re-use”. Refill stations, among others, must contain information about hygiene standards and the end user’s responsibility to maintain hygiene standards. Moreover, packaging that is offered to end users at refill stations may not be provided free of charge or is offered as part of a deposit and return system. Systems for re-use, on the other side, enable the re-use of a packaging either in a closed-loop or open-loop system, and must have a clearly defined governance structure, reporting rules, as well as other rules guaranteeing the circulation of packaging within those systems. The proposal also contains requirements such as a dedicated label on reusable packaging and a digital data carrier (e.g. QR code) that provides information, among others, on collection points, and that facilitates the calculation of trips and rotations.
2. Reuse and refill targets: For take-away food and beverages, several beverage product categories, and transport packaging and packaging for e-commerce, the European Commission has proposed reuse targets. For hot and cold beverages filled into a container at the point of sale for take-away, 20 % by 2030, and 80 % by 2040, of those products shall be made available through refill or systems for re-use. For take-away ready-prepared food, intended for immediate consumption, 10 % of those products by 2030 and 40 % by 2040 shall be made available through refill or systems for re-use.
3. From directive to regulation: The Commission has proposed to change the former Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive into a Regulation to ensure homogeneity in the implementation and avoid fragmentation of the single market. This will imply its direct application at national level once adopted by the EU without needing transposition by Member States.

3 key insights about LCA
1. Life cycle: The impact of production and end of life becomes less relevant the higher the number of cycles. After a certain number of cycles the emissions reach a plateau due to transport and cleaning repeating in every cycle. This repetition usually makes the use phase the most impactful lifestage. Focusing on reducing the distances and opting for less impactful transport modes and energy efficient industrial dishwashers is recommended. Consumers washing the takeaway packaging at home can lead to significant increase in emissions, they should, therefore, be instructed to not clean it or if desired, only rinse the packaging with cold water.
2. Number of cycles: The number of cycles of a reusable packaging can reach throughout its lifetime is important but having high return rates is crucial to ensure the packaging indeed fulfills the number of cycles planned e.g to reach 10 cycles in average, a return rate of 90% must be reached.
3. LCAs: The number of studies comparing single-use and reusable packaging is still limited pointing to the need for more studies to be conducted. Even though LCAs usually don't account for post-use marine and terrestrial discarding/pollution of (especially) single-use packaging, most studies still point to reusable as the preferred alternative. However, in some cases, reusable packaging is not the preferred option, so doing a case-specific study is extremely important to avoid greenwashing and also point to which life stages and actions can be improved to further reduce the system's impact. 

Mission Reuse pilot of reusable tableware at the festivals DGTL, Castlefest and Into The Great Wide Open, with the Gentse Feesten added, covering communication, return logistics and washing, staff experience, impact figures and scaling.

Mission Reuse is a program designed to drive the transition from single-use to reusables in the Dutch market. The program, created by Enviu, Recycling Netwerk Benelux, and Natuur & Milieu, tests new reusable business models in different situations to identify conditions and challenges for implementing them
on a larger scale. The research supports innovation but also gives insights into our recommendations for supporting policy to implement reusables successfully in the Dutch market.

During 2022 Mission Reuse conducted a pilot on reusable tableware at festivals, initiated by Lab Vlieland and the Green Deal Circular Festivals. The pilot included three festivals: DGTL, Castlefest, and Into The Great Wide Open. The case study of the Gentse Feesten was added later. Te publication shares the
outcomes and recommendations:

• Paardekooper provided the reusable tableware.
• For DGTL and Castlefest they used the packaging of Goodless
• For ITGWO SwapBox also provided reusable tableware. 

The report explains the settings for the four festival were reusable tableware was implemented in a test phase, and elaborates on the conditions of:

• Communication on the festivals
• Return logistics and washing
• experience of the food truck staff
• Impact Analysis and comparison, including numbers (how many visitors used the tableware, satisfactory rate, prefered way of receiving the deposit etc.)
• Scaling and recommendations

The report contains a lot of photos, graphs and insights on practical examples.

📣 The report includes examples how to implement reusable tableware at festivals.

🌎 The report contains examples from festivals in the Netherlands. Language is English.

⏰Published in December 2022 (updated in March 2023 )

💻 Download for free at the website of Mission Reuse.

Impact chapter. The white paper’s impact chapter compares a reusable polypropylene bowl and fork with disposable alternatives for one serving at the Into The Great Wide Open festival, on energy use, water use and climate change.

The worst case uses the rotations measured at that festival, 7.7 for bowls and 3.9 for forks; the best case uses the 25 rotations achieved by reusable plates at DGTL. According to the study, reusable bowls are preferable to disposable alternatives other than a paper napkin if they last at least 25 rotations. The reusable fork scores worse than a wooden fork on climate change and water use in all scenarios.

The authors state that their white paper takes a life cycle approach but is not a detailed life cycle assessment.

GVM study for NABU on German transport packaging: 5.5 million tonnes in 2021, 68% paper and cardboard, a reusable share of about 13%, and over one million tonnes of material saved in a 50% reuse scenario.

The GVM (GVM Gesellschaft für Verpackungsmarktforschung mbH, Societyfor Packaging Market Research) on behalf o NABU (the Nature and Biodiversity Consveration Union) has conducted a study (100 pages) to investigate the potential for material savings in transport packaging made from paper and cardboard through the use of reusable packaging.

Transport packaging made of paper and cardboard is, for example, cartons, intermediate layers, edge protectors, shipping labels and, above all, shelf cartons in which the goods can be presented directly in the store. Main results:

• Total packaging consumption in Germany in 2021 was 19.2 million tonnes.
• Transport packaging accounted for 29 % of this with 5.5 million tons.
• Paper and cardboard dominates as a material: 68 % of transport packaging is made of paper, or cardboard . This is followed by wood (22 %).
• Almost a third of all packaging waste in Germany is transport packaging.
• With a share of 20 percent, paper and cardboard transport packaging is a very relevant source for the total packaging consumption (including all packaging materials) in Germany.
• Since 2000, the consumption of paper and cardboard transport packaging has increased by around 25 %.
• Shelf cartons account for over 40 % of paper and cardboard transport packaging. With these, goods can be offered directly in the store on the shelves. Due to their stable design, they are more material-intensive than normal cartons. Although shelf boxes are often visible to consumers on the
  shelf, they are hardly perceived as a waste problem.
• The proportion of recycled fibres in paper and cardboard transport packaging is comparatively high at 84 %, but around 600,000 tonnes of virgin wood fibres are consumed annually for transport packaging.

Reusable packaging provides an approach to significantly reduce the amount of waste generated by transport packaging. GVM estimates the current reusable share of transport packaging for Germany at around 13 %.

The study compared the material efficiency of reusable and non-returnable transport packaging for various product groups in order to show the potential material savings through reusable packaging. This depends primarily on the following parameters:

• Circulation frequency: The lifetime circulation frequency indicates after how many uses reusable packaging is disposed of (and usually recycled). The higher this is, the less reusable packaging is wasted.
• Weight: The operating weight of the reusable packaging must always be seen in relation to the number of cycles achieved.
• Fill size: The larger the fill size, the better the material efficiency of the packaging.
• Handling or stackability on pallets and the like (not included in the calculations).

GVM has also extrapolated the material savings through reusable packaging to the overall market: In a scenario with a 50 % reusable share in the entire market (beverages, food, drugstore goods, others), more than one million tons of packaging material could be saved. The increase in plastic consumption for reusable crates (plus 0.26 million tonnes) would be more than offset by the savings in paper and cardboard for non-returnable packaging (minus 1.36 million tonnes).

📣 The report is interesting for everybody searching for data on transport packaging and the potential to save material by using reusable packaging.

🌎 The includes data for reusable transport packaging in Germany. Language is German.

⏰ Published in June 2022.

💻 Download for free at the website of NABU.

Wageningen University study for Metal Packaging Europe, from a literature review and 11 company interviews, listing the conditions that favour reuse: many loops, transport under 200 km, low cleaning inputs, low breakage, lightly branded liquid products.

The Wageningen University (Food & Biobased Research) produced a study for Metal Packaging Europe collecting data and information on reusable packaging in Europe via literature review and 11 interviews with international companies from the beverage and diary industry and in Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, France. The literature review includes articles from logistics, consumer acceptance, Description of existing B2C reuse systems, Estimation of potential reductions in environmental impacts, design for reuse and food safety.

The study elaborates on the following success and failure factors:

• Amount of loops in reusable packaging system: the higher the better for reuse
• Transport distances: < 200 km in favour for reuse
• Water, energy & chemical use for cleaning reusables: lower in favour for reuse
• Fuel usage and type for transport vehicles: lower/electricity in favour for reuse
• Products: the more liqueous in favour for reuse
• Marketing: the less branded in favour for reuse
• Breakage / damage rates in reusable packaging system: lower in favour for reuse
• Weight ratio of reusable vs single-use packages: lower in favour for reuse
• Required pool size to operate a reusable system: higher in favour for single-use
• Recycled content single-use packaging: Higher in favour for single-use

The study concludes: "Most enterprises favour centralised production facilities to keep production costs low. They will only convert to reuse systems in case there is a strong societal pressure and/or legislative need to do so. Centralised production in combination with single-use packages can offer the lowest carbon foot prints. But single-use packages with or without collection and recycling systems will always result in some level of littering and leakage of packages into the natural environment (unless for beverage packaging near 100% collection rates are achieved through deposit return systems like e.g. in Germany). Most large businesses will favour to safeguard their investments in large centralised production facilities, to finance collection and recycling schemes for packaging waste (EPR), to stress the low product costs and low carbon foot prints of their products.

📣 The report provides insights on how the industry and involved companies see the change towards reusable packaging and the potential to shift (or to shift not) markets.

🌎 The report includes insides valid for all kind of regions, examples are focussing on western European countries. Language is English. 

⏰Published in March 2022. 

 💻 The report can be downloaded here. 

Utrecht and Twente review of trends and literature on reusable, refill and transit packaging, introducing a classification of reusable packaging systems and summarising their economic and environmental impacts.

A study by authors from the Utrecht University and the Twente University review the trends in reusable packaging and the literature on reusable packaging to generate insights into the current state-of-the-art knowledge and identify directions for research and development. This can help to better understand the key factors underlying the design and impacts of more sustainable packaging systems. The study looks at both reusable packaging and refill solution and transit packaging and investigates the economic an environmental impacts of various solution by gathering and summarising relevant studies.

The study highlights, that:

• Reusable packaging may offer a more sustainable alternative to single-use packaging. 
• Reusable packaging systems often show environmental benefits over single-use systems. 
• There is wide experience with reusable packaging systems in selected markets. 
• A classification for reusable packaging systems is introduced. 
• Decision support models considering alternative designs for reusable packaging are needed.  

📣 The scientific paper provides insights on state of the art and trends for reusable packaging in various sectors.

🌎 The paper is based on studies across the world . Language is English. 

⏰Published in May 2022. 

 💻 The scientific paper is published at Resources, Conservation & Recycling (Volume 6) and can be downloaded free of charge at ScienceDirect. 

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0), as stated on page 1 of the article.

CITEO, a not-for-profit company founded from the merger of Eco-Emballages and Ecofolio with a view to reduce the environmental impact of packaging and paper, published in October 2021 a report (95 pages) about reusable packaging in France. French reusable packaging solution are emerging as a promising solution and reuse systems are designed and tested n each region of France. Thanks to these experiments and studies, the conditions for successful large-scale reuse are emerging. Among them, the definition of standard packaging ranges for the fresh, beverage
and catering sectors.

Background:

• The anti-waste law and for a circular economy (loi anti-gaspillage et pour une
  économie circulaire (AGEC) obliges companies to take care of the management of household packaging waste and to define, by January 2022 “standard ranges for reusable packaging for the catering sectors, as well as for fresh produce and drinks”.
• From spring 2021, Citeo brought industrialists and reuse stakeholders to the table.
• Based on industrial and operational constraints, stakeholders identified reference packaging (shape, capacity, material, type of closure) which could be used in reuse systems on a national scale.
• This collaborative work also made it possible to identify the operational processes to which these packaging would be required and to assess the operational feasibility of these ranges.

Standards for reusable packaging enable to:

• group the packaging in order to optimize returns, sorting, washing and logistics processes and thus improve the economic and environmental impact of reuse.
• create a complete territorial network and improve the environmental impact of packaging
• facilitate access for all marketers to a range of packaging suitable for reuse, even those who do not have the means to develop it
• make reuse simpler and understandable by consumers, whose action of returning packaging after using the products is essential

Collaborative work was performed in three steps:

• Circular analysis: it allowed stakeholders to discuss the needs and constraints of reusable packaging to write an initial common specification.
• Packaging design: a phase during which the future characteristics of standard packaging were defined (formats, materials, etc.) and compared with existing packaging solutions.
• Rapid tests and recommendations: initial tests made it possible to validate the use and relevance of packaging identified as potentially being a reference for everyone, and to propose recommendations for operational implementation. Larger-scale tests will be carried out subsequently.

The results of the study constitute a first key step in the development of standardized reusable packaging. Indeed, the conformity of future reusable packaging standards from an operational point of view remains to be demonstrated. In continuation of this initial work, Citeo orchestrated tests to validate their essential requirements (repeated food contact, physical integrity, functionality and design) on three materials: PP, stainless steel and co-polyester, other tests on other materials are planned. In segments where packaging solutions are more mature, designs have been produced and presented (for glass). The next step is to develop these references with glass manufacturers. Organizational questions must also be explored in order to determine what the model for implementing these standard packaging will be on a national scale.

 📣 The study is relevant for everybody who wants to deep dive into market situation, available solution and the discussion on standardisation of reusable packaging in France. The report contains a broad overview of reusable packaging in the different sectors including graphs and photos.

🌎 The study is prepared in France containing examples of different regions of France and tailored to the French market situation. However results can be transferred to other countries. Language of the publication is French. 

⏰ Published in September 2021.  

💻 Download for free at the website of CITEO .

The Netherlands Institute for Sustainable Packaging (KIDV) has held a triptych of webinars on the use of reusable packaging and systems in other countries answering the question: what are relevant developments and what can we learn from them in the Netherlands?

After zooming in on frontrunners France and Germany respectively, the focus during the last webinar on 10 November 2022 was on the developments within the United Kingdom (UK).

Speakers:

• Catherine Conway - founder and director of Unpackaged Innovation Ltd.
• Paul Garner, senior commercial manager at Asda Stores Limited. 
• Ben Patten, founder of Dizzie (delivering groceries in reusable packaging, both to consumers and retailers)

Main points of the discussion:

• legislation is not really forcing the development in UK, however attention of consumers for refill and reuse options is increasing
• scale is needed to make the systems economically and environmentally viable
• standardisation is needed

📣 The webinar is valuable for everybody who want to get practical insights on how reusable and refillable packaging is evolving in the UK. Experience however is transferable to other countries.

🌎 The webinar is targeted for the UK and Dutch audience, however it contains valuable insights for other countries. Language is English.

⏰Published in November 2023.

💻 The recording of the webinar ans all presentations of the speakers is available at the website of KIDV. 

The Cosmetic Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA) is the trade association for the UK cosmetic and personal care industry. It published a guidance on refill at store (and reuse) models targeting cosmetic and cleaning products in particular.

It elaborates different scenarios for cleaning and sanitation of refillable packaging and explains what needs to be considered for each scenarios. Scenarios for refill are:

1. The container is cleaned/rinsed and dried by the consumer before returning to store for assessment and refilling.
2. The container is returned to the store for cleaning (in-store or at a different facility such as the original manufacturing site) and re-use by a subsequent consumer, sometimes referred to as(return on-the-go)
3. The container is cleaned in store and the same container refilled and returned to the same consumer.
4. The container is assessed in store before a decision about which of the options above is most appropriate.

Further it includes for refill:

• good manufacturing practice and filling instruction
• compliance with weight and measures
• labelling for the consumer
• period after opening
• labelling of service packaging

In addition is elaborates on d the considerations for refill at home and dilution at home.

📣 The guidance is relevant who look for solutions in the personal care, cosmetic, cleaning products in particular for refill options (partly in combination with reusable packaging)

🌎 The factsheet is made for UK and considers UK law, however information is valuable within all other countries. Language of the publication is English.

⏰ Published in July 2022.

💻 Download for free at the website of CTPA (see section “Miscellaneous").

The Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) published in 2022 a guide (50 pages) to help brands and retailers better design and measure effective reusable packaging systems. The Guidance for Reusable Packaging outlines key considerations for the success, applicability, and sustainability of reusable packaging systems. SPCis an industry coalition dealing with the different aspects of sustainable packaging (e.g. Reuse, Design4Recycling, chemical recycling, plastic pollution, materials). Members are large retailers, food and good producers, online platforms, material manufacturers, etc. The guidance is based on observations from interviews with reusable packaging professionals, discussions and panels at industry events, corporate sustainability documents, pilot project communication, and press releases.

The guide includes information on the following aspects:

1. Synthesize different definitions of reusable packaging, including refillable and returnable packaging, and outline how it compares to single-use packaging. In opposite to EllenMacArthur 4 type categorisation, the guidance divides only between refillable and returnable packaging.
2. Pose questions about the role of reusable packaging, including whether it effectively replaces single-use packaging, addresses overconsumption, or reduces the carbon footprint of products. The guidance suggests to analyse return and refill rates (if possible in PRACTICE and not in theory) as an indicator of reuse in practice. Other data (sales rate, costs) is easier available, however they often reflect only short-term performance of the system. Metrics to count return and refill rates are given.
3. Consider how consumers interact with reusable packaging and the likelihood that it will be reused in practice
4. Suggest important considerations for designing reusable packaging, including when reusable packaging makes the most sense.
5. Outline best practices for a successful reuse system and ways to measure success

The guidance elaborates critically on different assumptions on reusable packaging. One example: Reuse displaces single-use packaging and eliminates plastic pollution. It is outlined that "Despite including reusable packaging in their sustainability goals, few companies have outlined what portion of their sales they expect to convert to reusables. Companies may not intend to cannibalize their own sales of products in single-use packaging with reusable packaging. Rather, many appear to be treating reusable packaging as a new revenue stream that attracts new customers, while continuing the status quo of manufacturing products in single-use packaging.

📣 This guide is targeting brands and retailers giving input to aspects of design and effectiveness of reusable packaging.

🌎 The report is not tailored to any specific country/region. Worldwide examples are included. Language is English.

⏰ Published in 2022.

💻 Download for free at Sustainable Packaging Coalition.

Tesco partnered with Loop to pilot reusable packaging and refill options at stores in the UK. The reuse report 2022 includes information on the partnership and the pilots rund within tesco stores.

Since 2019, Tesco have been tackling the impact of plastic waste through our 4Rs strategy (remove, reduce, reuse, recycle) to remove packaging. They:

• improved 2,000 packaging with the 4R strategy
• removed 3,000 tonnes of packaging
• removed 1.7 billion pieces of plastic (from UK in total)

Between July 2020 and June 2021, Tesco ran an online pilot with Loop. Customers across UK were able to order 150 grocery products in reusable packaging and have them delivered to their doorstep. Prefilled products were delivered to over 500 different UK postcodes. Branded and Loop own-brand products were made available in reusable packaging, including sauces, yoghurts, soaps, cereals, moisturisers, chocolate and washing detergents.

From September 2021 to June 2022, Tesco conducted our in-store prefill pilot with Loop. Customers in ten pilot stores in the Midlands and East of England were able to buy 53 lines from popular brands such as Persil, Coca Cola, Heinz and Tetley Tea, as well as 35 own-brand essentials, prefilled and available in store as part of our reuse offer. Customers could simply add these products to their shopping basket as part of their shop, eliminating the need to bring their own containers or undertake the refilling themselves.

In both online and in-store pilots, to encourage customers to return the packaging, a refundable
deposit was paid for each reusable packaging - refunded in full when customers return the packaging, via the Loop app.

Main Learings from the pilots

1. Many customers want to shop in reusable packaging. More than 80,000 products were purchased over two years

2. Reuse can work for retailers and suppliers. The pilots suggest that it is possible for many brands to offer reusable packaging options with only minimal changes to their current production infrastructure and packaging.

3. In-store colleagues as ambassadors of reuse. Staff in stores played a key role in getting customers to take part in the prefill pilot. Many customers said they took part following their interaction with a trained colleague who was able to explain the reuse process and why it is better for the planet than recycling.

4. A truly scalable proposition. If rolled out to 400 stores across various retail chains, a prefill offer could be a viable business opportunity that replaces millions of pieces of recyclable plastic with reusable alternatives. This offers an additional tool in the fight against plastic waste

Further learnings are:

• Keep the customer experience simple
• Make competitive prices
• Collaborate!

📣 The report is valuable for initiatives/companies and in particular retailers starting and implementing reusable packaging at their grocery stores.

🌎 The report is including facts and figures and developments for reusable packaging at Tesco in the UK. It ist interesting for all who are working in or for the retail sector or need information on the view of a big retailer.

⏰ Published in 2022. 

💻 The report can be downloaded for free at Tesco website .

Researchers from Fraunhofer UMSICHT and Fraunhofer IML, working together in the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE, have compared three plastic-based reusable systems for the Stiftung Initiative Mehrweg (SIM) compared three plastic-based reusable systems with their single-use alternatives. Under assessment:

• fruit and vegetable crates (already established in retail)
• plant trays (in preparation for large-scale use)
• coffee-to-go cups (introductory phase).

They were compared with the respective corresponding single-use solutions in the three areas of circularity, performance and sustainability in a total of 17 subcategories.

The result: reusable is superior to disposable in 14 of the 17 categories examined and offers great potential for the success of a circular economy. What is missing are clear political framework conditions and the implementation of the existing waste hierarchy, which actually prioritizes reusables.

The problem in more detail:

• Only 13 % of the plastics produced in Germany are made from recyclates, and in the packaging sector it is even only 11 %..
• Only a very small part is reused for the original purpose, usually cascade uses (downcycling) dominate.
• Germany is one of the largest exporters of plastic waste in the world.

"The waste hierarchy regulated in European waste legislation for decades defines a hierarchy in the generation and handling of plastic waste. In it, recycling is downstream of multiple use. However, the implementation of this waste hierarchy has hardly taken place so far." (Jürgen Bertling, Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT, project manager of the study).

The most important results of the study:

• Reusable packaging clear advantages for all three demonstrated cases - from material efficiency to lower plastic emissions to better product protection through more robust designs.
• Returnable means for companies initially a higher capital investment through the development of logistics and return systems, storage areas and cleaning technology. In the long term, however, reusable systems prove to be cheaper and more resource-efficient, they strengthen regional economies and contribute to increased technological sovereignty. "The decisive factors for the advantageousness of a reusable system are above all the number in circulation and the distribution structure: the higher the number in circulation and the lower the transport distances, the better reusable performs compared to single-use. Here, therefore, decentralized pool solutions are elementary" (Kerstin Dobers, Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML, co-author of the study).
• Compared with other packaging materials such as paper or wood, plastic has a variety of advantageous properties - light, durable, chemically inert - and thus remains the material of choice for numerous applications, especially in reusable systems.

Recommendation of measures:

• On the one hand, ways to consistently implement the waste hierarchy should be demonstrated and promoted. Single-use systems should only come into play once the opportunities for multiple use have been exhausted. "This result of the study is in contrast to today's reality in the packaging market. There must be new political framework conditions that sanction the bypassing of this order. At the same time, incentive systems should be created for companies to increasingly establish reusable solutions for plastics," says Jürgen Bertling (Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT, project manager of the study).
• In addition, a review of the waste hierarchy by a panel of experts is required and subsequently its strict implementation in practice.
• In addition, it makes sense to look less at the recycling rates, but to specify demanding recyclate shares in production.
• Existing optimization potential for reusable solutions should be exploited so that their advantages are further expanded and possible deficits are eliminated:
• There are still many innovations possible in reusable solutions, especially in online retail or in the take-away industry.
• Good solutions are characterized by the fact that the packaging is modular and its volume is reducible (nestable or foldable).  
• Here, framework conditions for national and international standardization are needed to exploit the ecological potential of reusable systems. 
• Furthermore, environmental markings (labels) for the identification of reusable and disposable would have to be clear. Here, above all associations are in demand.

 📣 The report includes three business examples for reusable packaging: fruit and vegetable crates (already established in retail), plant trays (in preparation for large-scale use) and coffee-to-go cups (introductory phase).  

🌎 The report is focussing on examples in Gernamy. Language is German. 

⏰ Published in April 2022. 

💻 Download at the website from Fraunhofer Umsicht. 

Reusable Packaging Europe (RPE) published a factsheet on reusable transport packaging summarising data on the use of transport packaging in particular of reusable packaging containers (PRCs) mainly used for fresh (food) products, made of plastic and on reusable wooden pallets (RWPs) used for transportation of any goods.

Reusable Packaging Containers (RPCs, made of plastics):

• are 96% less damaged
• make up to 120 cycles of reuse with a life-span of 7 to 12 years
• reduce 60% CO2 eq compared to single use cardboard packaging

Reusable Wooden Pallets (RWPs)

• are used up to 30 times
• reduce 40 to 50% of Co2eq compared to non-poolde alternatives
• use 55 to 70% less timber compared to non-poolde alternatives

Reusable Transport Packaging is the best way to reduce the environmental impact of packaging across the logistical supply chain. The use of a pooling system is much more efficient than single-use transport packaging, and lowers the final costs for its users.

📣 The report summarises facts and figures about two reusable transport packaging systems and contains valid data for everybody who transports (fresh) food and consumer goods (on palets).

🌎 The report is not tailored to any specific region. It includes data from Europa. Language is English.

⏰ Published in July 2022.

💻 Download for free at the website of RPE .

Unpackaged launched in October 2022 with the support of RREUSE and the Rethink Plastic alliance the report “A Just Transition to Reusable Packaging: Necessary conditions, benefits and best practice” (40 pages + Annexes). New on this report is, that it is focussing on the potential of socio-economic impacts of reuse solution for Hotels, Restaurants and Cafes (HoReCa sector), rather than the environmental impact. The report works within the concept of Just Transition. The concept of Just Transition emerged from concerns that transitioning to a green economy should be done in a way that leaves no one behind - generating wealth, lifting people out of poverty, improving quality of life and protecting the environment, all without compromising future generations. For a transition to be ‘just’, any socio-economic benefits should be maximised whilst any negative impacts are carefully mitigated.

It therefor looks at the impacts that the implementation of reusable packaging has on (in very short):

• business: design new business models, cut costs, new costumer experience/built brand loyalty
  
• job creation (different types/new job categories e.g. in reverse logistics)
  
• consumers: looking e.g. at accessibility of reusable packaging for people with special needs
  
• communities such as local involvement of SMEs
  

As key infrastructure requirements the report names:

• the pool of reusable packaging itself (managed by a third party, or unmanaged)
  
• return logistics (collection, sorting, cleaning & redistribution)
  
• management of the incentive (e.g. deposit system)
  

The report includes also demand addressing policy, an overview on EU legislation promoting reusable packaging and short definition on what are reusable packaging for the HoReCa sector and how they work.

📣 The report explaines socio-economic impact of reusable packaging on a general level. It is targeting the HoReCa sectors (Hotel, Restaurants, Cafes) and is therefore in particular interesting for the to-go/take-away sector.

🌎 The report is not tailored to any specific region. It includes examples and cases studies from different countries and an emphasis on EU legislation. Language is English.

⏰ Published in October 2022

💻 Download for free at the website of Rethink Plastic: A Just Transition to Reusable Packaging

Rethink Plastic Alliance together with Zero Waste Europe (ZWE), Surfrider Europe and Seas at Risk the “Single Use Plastic Directive Implementation Assessment Report” (33 pages + Appendix), The report provides an overview of the progress of EU Member States in transposing the EU Directive on single use plastic (SUP) and adopting measures at national level one year after the end of the transposition period. It is up to date on developments until July 2022. Some insights: 

• 7 EU Member States have adopted ambitious measures and have made use of their obligation to transpose the SUP Directive (France, Greece, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, Cyprus or Portugal)


• 16 Member States are lacking behind with the implementation and the EU Commission has send a formal notice for lack of transposition of the SUP Directive (Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain)

Some Member States introduced reuse targets, i.e.:

• France: a 20% reduction target for plastic packaging of which at least 50% is achieved through reuse and the progressive elimination of single-use plastic packaging. And: a minimal share of reusable packaging on the market imposed on producers placing at least 10.000 units of packaged products on the market per year and on any approved PRO for packaging. The objectives vary depending on the annual turnover declared by producers: for a turnover below 20 million euros, it amounts to 5% in 2026 and 10% in 2027, for a turnover between 20 and 50 million euros, it was set at 5% in 2025, 7% in 2026, 10% in 2027. Finally, for a turnover of more than 50 million euros, it is 5 % in 2023, 6 % in 2024, 7% in 2025, 8% in 2026 and 10% in 2027.


• Austria: (only for beverages) mandatory refillable quota for beverage containers, which mandates beverage distributors in the retail food sector to provide for refillable bottles by 2024 - at least 15% for beer, mixed beer beverages and for mineral and table water and at least 10% for fruit juice, vegetable juice, nectar, non-alcoholic soft drinks and milk


• Spain: Different regional requirements:




• Since 2018, a regional law in Navarra requires businesses in the hotel, retail and catering (HORECA) sector to serve 80% of beer, 70% of soft drinks and 40% of water in reusable containers, by 2028. By the same deadline, 15% of beverage containers sold in shops must be reusable. 


• In 2019, the Balearic Islands have set similar requirements: for the Horeca sector reuse targets of 40% have been set for bottled water, of 80% for beer packaging, of 70% for soft drinks, and for other sectors a general target of 15% has been set.


• In the Canary Islands, from 1 January 2020, the regional plastics strategy mandated that delivery containers for commercial goods are reusable or made of recycled material. Water fountains are being promoted and a ban on bottled water implemented in public administrations. SUP are also banned from public events and substituted with reusable alternatives.




• Portugal: mandated that by January 2024, restaurants are required to provide reusable packaging to its customers (through a deposit to be returned after use) for takeaway or delivery of food and beverages. Also, restaurants must provide reusable utensils for onsite consumption of food or beverages in their establishments. 


• Latvia: mandated establishments to offer or sell to consumers reusable packaging for food and beverages as an alternative to single-use as of 3 July 2021.


• Luxembourg: mandated that, as of January 2025, containers, trays, plates and cutlery used in the context of takeaway meals have to be reusable. 


• Germany: mandated for restaurants and take away establishments over 80 square metres and 6 employees to use reusable cups and food containers by January 2023

And as regards packaging free consumption:

• Portugal: mandated that by January 2024, vending machines providing ready-to-eat meals or drinks and packaged at the time of purchase by the consumer must allow consumers to use their own containers. 


• Latvia: mandated establishments to inform consumers of the possibility to bring their own cups for beverages or food containers for takeaways as of 3 July 2021 (date of entry into force). 


• France, Italy and Germany: have seen the development of multiple local initiatives to promote reuse over the past 10 years. 

To promote alternative several countries have included in the law, that single-use plastic packaging will not be free of charge anymore, in particular:

• Spain: from January 2023 cups for beverages and food containers will not be provided for free anymore. They will be charged a price which will be visible to consumers on their receipts.


• Estonia: single-use beverage cups and food containers may not be provided free of charge to consumers at the point of sale. The price for single-use packaging should not be less than 50 cent and establishments must inform consumers under which conditions reusable containers are accepted.


• Portugal: a 30 cents levy on all plastic takeaway containers has been implemented as of July 2022, and, as of Jan 2023, it will also apply to aluminium. 


• Ireland: the so-called “latte levy tax” on single-use coffee cups will apply on hot beverage packaging second half of 2023. 


• Italy: a national “plastic tax” on packaging has been under discussion for some time although, as a result of the Covid pandemic, it has been postponed to 2023


• Latvia: establishments must not provide consumers with single-use food and beverage containers free of charge as of 3 July 2021

Conclusion and recommendation of the authors (focussing on reuse):

• The reduction in the consumption of single-use plastics should not lead to substitution with single-use items in other materials but, rather, increased use of reusable versions of those items.


• The adoption of reuse targets is therefore very complementary to other SUP consumption reduction measures towards achieving a full implementation of article 4 of the directive.


• The gradual and ambitious consumption reduction mandated over the next decade should be used to develop and scale-up reusable systems for these items in order to facilitate a complete phase-out of the most prevalent single-use items in the longer run

📣 The Report It is not tailored to any specific group. It provides specific information on the implementation of the EU single-use plastic Directive including measures and provisions of reusable packaging.

🌎 The report is tailored to EU countries. Language is English.

⏰ Published in September 2022

💻 Download for free at the website of Rethink Plastic Alliance: Report 

Upstream, a public-interest, non-profit organization founded by a group of Zero Waste activists in the US and Canada hosted a webinar on guidelines, standards, and infrastructure required for an effective reuse economy. Upstream’s Chief Solutioneer/CEO, Matt Prindiville hosts an engaging and informative discussion with three special guests – Amy Larkin & Claudette Juska from PR3 and Olga Kachook from GreenBlue. R3 is a US based private-public partnership for reusable packaging. PR3 developed a standard together with large international companies to integrate and support diverse reuse initiatives. GreenBlue is an environmental non-profit organisation, also US based, dedicated to the sustainable use of materials in society.

The speakers are putting the puzzle pieces together, “setting the standard for reuse”. They discuss in particular the issue of how much standardization is needed to make reuse work on a larger scale and for what parts of the reuse life journey standardization makes sense in order to collect and return different systems together on a long term.

⌚The recording is 1 hours. 

📣 The webinar is valuable to learn about the importance and status-quo of standardization of reuse solution. Examples and standards discussed are designed to be valid world wide.

🌎 The webinar is targeting a international audience. Language is English.

⏰ Published in August 2022

💻 Recording at YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VboT7L1OVU

The European plastics system needs significant change within five years to meet long-term circularity and net-zero emissions goals, according to the most recent study by SYSTEMIQ called “ReShaping Plastics – Pathways to a Circular, Climate Neutral Plastics System in Europe. “SYSTEMIQ, a consultancy published a report (90 pages) showing how to reduce plastic in different policy and action scenarios by 2050. SYSTEMIQ’s report finds that “a fully circular, net zero carbon emissions plastics system in Europe is possible”. However, achieving it will require “radical innovation, ambitious policies and significant capital investment” - with cooperation between industry, government and civil society the key underlying critical success factor.

Among the report’s key findings, here are a few to keep in mind:

• A redesigned plastics system must address circularity and carbon emissions simultaneously, and to do so must implement both upstream and downstream measures – recycling alone will not suffice.


• The European plastics system’s current adaptations are too slow to align with agreed climate goals, circularity policies and the European Green Deal.


• A collaborative, systemic approach is urgently needed involving all stakeholders


• Reuse as a business model can contribute to a large extend to drive the change. 

➰ ReShaping Plastics focuses on four of the most important plastic-intensive sectors - packaging, household goods, automotive and construction sectors - and presents six scenarios, outlining which actions should be prioritized for different plastic applications in order to meet circularity and climate mitigation goals. It is great to see that reuse is mentioned several times as a key part of the “Reduction substitution scenario” !

🧠 To achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, multiple mature, innovative technologies and approaches need to be developed and deployed in addition to proven circular economy levers to further decrease GHG emissions and decouple plastic from fossil fuel feedstocks.

💻 Download for free at the website of systemiq (available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch): https://www.systemiq.earth/reshaping-plastics/

LCA commissioned by Upstream comparing single-use PET, PLA and aluminium cups with reusable polypropylene and stainless-steel cups at US stadium events; reusable cups win after a break-even of six uses.

Upstream, a public-interest, non-profit organization founded by a group of Zero Waste activists in the US and Canada conducted a Life-Cycle-Assssment (LCA) in order to examine the environmental impacts of single-use and reusable cups made from different materials that are used in arena and stadium events within the United States during an average event tour season.

The goal of the report is to provide unbiased information and analysis to help venue managers, food concessionaires, and other industry leaders identify the most environmentally friendly options. The materials, manufacture, transport and use phases of 16-ounce beverage cups made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polylactic acid (PLA), aluminum (Al), and reusable versions made of polypropylene (PP) and stainless steel (SS) were analysed for energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, air acidification, water eutrophication and landfill impact.

Results:

• Reusable stainless steel and polypropylene cups dramatically outperform the single-use cup options across all environmental metrics. These are the most sustainable material options for events and venues.
• In all use scenarios, stainless steel and polypropylene cups have the lowest impact compared to single-use cups if they are washed and used past the “break-even point” of six times.
• The break-even point is the number of times a reusable product must be used in order to exceed the environmental benefits of a comparable amount of disposables (e.g. after two uses, a stainless steel fork starts to accrue environmental benefits over a disposable plastic one).
• The more a reusable product or package is washed and reused past the break-even point, the more environmental benefits accumulate.
• Polypropylene cups can be washed and reused hundreds of times, and stainless steel cups thousands of times.
• If you’re still using single-use cups, PET and PLA cups are better options for the climate.
• At current recycling rates among single-use cups, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) had the lowest energy consumption and global warming potential, followed closely by polylactic acid (PLA).
• Single-use aluminum cups are the worst option for the climate by far. Single-use aluminum cups used 47% more energy over their life-cycle and created 86% more carbon dioxide than other single-use plastic options.
• The use category – ttransportation and washing – for the reusable cups had a minor impact for all use cases in comparison to single-use cups.
• The average stadium that hosts 300 events annually uses 5.4 million single-use cups – creating a whopping 63.75 tons of plastic waste. If these were replaced with reusable polypropylene (PP) cups used 300 times and then discarded, that would generate less than one ton of waste. Reusable stainless steel cups used 300 times and then discarded would generate just 1.8 tons of waste.

📣 The report includes a Life-Cycle-Assessment analysis on take-away reusable cups at events.

🌎 The report contains data from the US market, however results are transferable. Language is English.

⏰Published in August 2021

💻 Download for free at the website of Upstream .

WWF Germany and Systemiq study of seven interventions for circular plastic packaging in Germany, where reuse models could cut plastic packaging waste by up to 23% (909 kt) by 2040.

WWF Germany together with Systemiq published a report about on how to change plastic packaging in retail in Germany (80 pages). The analysis reveals that much potential for a truly circular economy for packaging remains untapped; however, there is a pathway to radically improve performance:

• Today, 89% of total packaging is made of virgin content and over 50% of the packaging waste is used for waste-to-energy-recovery through incineration.
• This translates into burning more than 1.6 million tons of plastic packaging waste, with the equivalent value of 3.8 billion ("Milliarde") Euros every year.
• Of the remaining half that is not incinerated, 18% are exported, 10% are open-loop recycled and lost to the system after one, short use-cycle.
• As it stands, the German packaging system, and its trajectory, is neither aligned with the Paris Accord, the European Green Deal, nor the Sustainable Development Goals.

In the report the critical findings are made about what will happen without action, where would current efforts get us, and what are key interventions to enable a circular packaging economy:

• At present, plastic packaging is a major contributor to plastic consumption (27%), plastic waste generation (59%) and GHG emissions (15.3 mt CO2eq p.a.).
• In a business-as-usual scenario (BAU), a moderate plastic packaging growth is expected (0.6% p.a., or 14% by 2040).
• Current commitments, including committed policy and voluntary industry initiatives, fall short of enabling the transition towards a circular packaging economy.
• A systems change is within reach.

Based on this findings 7 interventions are elaborated and explained in detail within the report, including data and info graphics.

1. Intervention 1 – Elimination and minimization of unnecessary packaging can result in a reduction of 8% of plastic waste, without significant negative consequence for people and the environment.
2. Intervention 2 – Reuse models are a significant lever to increase circularity, providing plastic utility, while reducing plastic waste by up to 23% by 2040 (909 kt) divided ba food-grade bottles, transport packaging and reuse & refill concepts for retailers.
3. Intervention 3 – Substituting single-use plastic packaging with paper, coated paper or biobased material can play a role for specific applications.
4. Intervention 4 – Design for recycling can significantly increase closed loop recycling, improving both yield and value of recyclates.
5. Intervention 5 – Improving separation at source and high-quality sorting to improve efficiency and output of the recycling system
6. Intervention 6 – New regulation and technologies to enable closed-loop recycling of food grade
   plastics, while protecting health and safety of the consumer
7. Intervention 7 – Developing demand-side standards, incentives and market norms, including recyclate standards and recycled content incentives.

📣 The document includes the state of the art, overview and best practice cases from Germany. Reuse models are elaborated as one of the models helping to reduce plastic packaging
🌎 The document includes information for Germany. However recommendations are transferable to other countries. Language is English and German.
⏰ Published in August 2021.
💻 Download for free at the website of WWF .

World Economic Forum and Kearney report presenting a Reuse Viability Framework for consumers, business and the public sector, with three scenarios for a reuse economy by 2030.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) together with Kearny runs a Platform for Shaping the Future of Consumption aims to advance responsible models of consumption that are equitable, promote societal well-being and protect the planet. They produced a report (36 pages) that is based on proprietary research to create a framework for the viability of reuse systems and serve as a guide for the scaling of reuse. It discusses the three primary actors of systems change required, which will dictate the pace and trajectory of the shift towards reuse:

• consumers
• business
• the public sector

The report presents the Reuse Viability Framework as a tool to establish the viability of reuse-centred production and consumption cycles and demonstrate the potential for superior economic, environmental and social impact relative to single-use alternatives.

The report also highlights three potential scenarios for the development of a reuse economy by 2030 including one where that the equivalent of half of annual plastic ocean waste can be prevented by reusing just 10-20% of plastic packaging.

📣 The report provides insights on how to set up viable reuse systems involving the key stakeholders.

🌎 The report includes insides valid for all kind of regions. Language is English. 

 ⏰Published in July 2022. 

 💻 The report can be downloaded free at the website of the Word Economic Forum .  

A study by authors from the Lancaster Institutes, the University of St. Andrews and Reath, a software provider for reusable packaging investigates the utility of a Digital Passport for enabling organisations in the UK to adopt reusable packaging in a market where information and communication technologies are sufficiently mature to support the traceability for reusable packaging at large scale. The scientist applied autoethnography by three practitioners who set up track and trace systems for reusable packaging plus 26 interviews with professionals from different
brands, the retail sector/supermarkets, environmental compliance bodies and health and safety regulators. The benefits of applying track and trace systems to reusable packaging are:  

• determining affordability through assessing reusable packaging life-span 
• meeting health and safety standards through batch coding and evidencing cleaning checks 
• addressing reputational concerns through clear documentation on the environmental impact 
• making it competitive through waste taxation that actually measures reuse 

The study also identifies four business concerns about reusable packaging, that can be alleviated by standardising data collected from Digital Passports.

📣 The scientific study provides valuable insights for everybody who is interested in track and trace technology for reusable packaging.
 

🌎 The study is tailored to the UK market, however learnings can be transferred to other countries. Language is English. 

⏰Published in January 2022. 

💻 The scientific paper is published at Sustainable Production and Consumption (Volume 29, Pages 249 to 258) and can be purchased at ELSEVIER . 

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), accepted author manuscript, as stated on the University of Strathclyde repository record.

Rewine, a project funded by the LIFE program of the EU organised a study on the potentials and barriers to reuse glass bottles in the wine industry focusing on Catalonia/Spain. Daily 9 million bottled beverages
are consume. Of the bottled beverages 6% are bottles of wine (data from Catalonia).

Objectives of the project

• Encourage the reuse of glass bottles in the Catalan wine industry.
• Contribute to creating awareness and achieve the qualitative and quantitative objectives for reduction of waste set out in Catalan and European legislation.
• Identify the barriers and opportunities for reuse glass bottles in the wine industry, as well as evaluate the environmental, economic and technical aspects involved.
• Encourage transfer of the experience into other geographic and economic contexts.
• Create a reuse network among different interest groups.

The study included

• workshops and surveys with local wineries (1,100 contact points in total)
• pilot test with 7 wineries producing 31 different brands, 3 waste treatment plants, 54 restaurants and shops
• conducting
• 5 cases studies
• testing the washing of bottles (5,420 wine bottles washed and analysed; 3,200 for white wine and 1,500 + 720 for red wine from TORRES and AFALMA
• validating the reuse system in 2 winery models: large producer (TORRES) and small / medium
  producer (AFALMA) according to different health and quality criteria: microbiological, visual, structural criteria and consumer opinions.

Results

• Reuse of wine bottles is technically possible with logistics adapted to each situation (wineries, distributors, hotels restaurants and/or cafés, shops, supermarket chains, waste collection centres, etc.).
• There are 6 factors determining the implementation of wine bottle reuse:
• characteristics of the bottle (model, label and capping system)
• bottle transport
• distance to the washing facility
• storage capacity
• hygienic storage conditions
• incentives for returning the empty bottle
• Reused bottles are, in general, more environment friendly than single-use bottles in terms of their carbon footprint. The environmental benefits could be greater or lesser depending on the distance to
  the washing facility and the number of cleaning cycles.
• Reuse bottles could save between 1.7 and 2.6 kg of CO2 eq/bottle after of 8 reuses (7 washings).
• Nowadays, the cost of a reused bottle is slightly higher than that of a new bottle.
• The distance between the washing facility and the winery is of prime importance in optimising the economic cost.
• At present, the low cost of the green dot tax favours the employment of single-use bottles.

📣 The report shows detailed information about the case studies conducted. It includes very valuable information for wineries, wine producers and everybody who wants to fill alcoholic beverages in reusable packaging.

🌎 The report is not tailored to any specific region. It includes examples and cases studies from different
countries and an emphasis on EU legislation. Language is English, Spanish, and Catalan.

⏰ Published in January 2021.

💻 Download for free at the website of Rewine.   

The present guidance document, published by the World Economic Forum, is part of the Consumers Beyond Waste 2020/21 work program. Consumers Beyond Waste (formerly Consumers Beyond Disposability) is a multistakeholder initiative hosted by the World Economic Forum’s Future of Consumption Platform in collaboration with Kearney. The initiative engages an informal coalition of diverse stakeholders committed to empowering consumers to, by 2030, access innovative consumption models at scale that offer aspirational, affordable, and more sustainable alternatives to single-use.

 📣 The present guidelines are intended to inspire and support designers, materials scientists, packaging engineers and reuse system providers in their efforts to design, develop and implement new consumption models that provide consumers with scalable alternatives to single-use. They seek to do this by pulling together in one resource the key design criteria and considerations on

• reusable container
• reusable systems
• environmental criteria for reuse

practitioners should account for in order to participate in this space.

🌎 The report is not tailored to any specific region. Language is English.

⏰ Published in September 2021

💻 Download for free at WEF: Design Guidelines For Reuse

The report highlights key social, economic and environmental benefits of scaling-up reuse in these sectors, waste savings, energy savings, waste consumption, material footprint and GHG emissions.
The study estimates the potential savings if the share of reusable packaging in the market or the three sectors covered increases in low (10% and 20%), medium (20% and 50%) and high (50% and 75%) scenarios relative to single use packaging in 2027 and 2030 respectively. All reuse scenarios suggest significant savings compared to a business as usual scenario where single-use packaging is predominant.
The study and this briefing also looks at the role of standardised packaging formats and systems in scaling-up reusable packaging, and potential benefits:
Reduce the investment and operating costs of reusable packaging systems through increased interoperability

• Maximise environmental benefits and economic viability by setting durability requirements
• Ensure safety from health and environmental risks thanks to standardised minimum requirements for washing processes
• Foster economies of scale and market penetration of reusable packaging systems via shared systems
• Increase the return rate of used packaging by defining appropriate incentives
• While preserving product information and innovation (label, digital solutions etc.)

📣 The report explaines the use of reusable packaging in different sectors (HoReCa Food & Beverages, E-commerce, Large retail - Household care and is interesting for everybody who searches for facts and outlines within this sectors.
🌎 The report is not tailored to any specific region. It includes examples and cases studies from different countries and an emphasis on EU legislation. Language is English.
⏰ Published in July 2021

💻 Download for free at the website of Rethink Plastic: Realising Reuse

The Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) conducted a study interviewing 2,000 consumer in UK about reuse and refill option. IGD runs a network where enterprises can commit to halve the environmental impact of packaging systems by 2030 seeing reuse/refill option as one of the solution.

The GDI study (30 pages, presentation style) uses the approach of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation categorising reuse/refill solution into four types: refill on the go (e.g. refill in-store), refill at home (pouches, tablets, powder etc.), return on the go (return reusable packaging to store or return point) and reuse from home (reusable packaging gets picked up e.g. while receiving new online orders).

Key results:

- 83% of involved consumers are open to change 

- about 41% have already used reusable packaging (31% refill at home, 17% return on the go, 11% refill on the go)

- main barriers: costs, hygiene, effort, time, home storage space, quality

- main motivators: cost, ease of use, environment impact

- openness to using reusable packaging varies by product category (see graph below)

- refill at home is more likely to be used by consumers than refill on the go (83% yes of which 43% "fast" yes for refill at home, 79% yes of which 31% fast yes for refill on the go)

- it does not really matter for the consumer if the return point for reusable packaging is in the store or another convenient location

- consumers that shop online are more open to return from home than those that shop in-store

- loyalty points are a bigger incentives than deposits

The report highlights how to help consumers adopting on of the four categorised solutions focussing on costs, ease and reassurance. 

📣 This study is valuable for producer and the retail sector to get a general insight on consumer opinion on reuse/refill solution and on how support such solution.

🌎 The interviews are made with UK costumers and reflecting the experience and opinions tailored to this market. Language is English.

⏰Published in 2021

💻 Downloaded for free at IGD: How to help consumers adopt reusable packaging 

The Center for the Circular Economy Closed Loop Partners published a report (55 pages) summarizing the experience when scaling up reusable cup projects. Center for the Circular Economy Closed Loop Partners manages the NextGen Cup consortium with Starbucks, Mc Donald's, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Jacobs, Wendy's and other large companies as partners and WWF in the advisory board. The consortium is based in the US. Their first projects is on scaling up reusable cups. 

The report provides general insights on setting up a system, on collaboration, on stakeholder to be involved, on issues to consider when starting a system. It includes some very nice visuals and graphs and overviews. Little actual numbers (e.g. of the pilots) are given. 

The report includes information on:

1. Insights on piloting innovative reusable cup systems: The project started with the NextGen Cup Challenge (in 2018). Of 480 application from 52 countries, twelve were funded and three piloted (cupclub, muuse, recup).

2. Explaining the multiple steps to think of when designing or implementing a reusable cup system and their stakeholders (see below)

3. Emphasises on how to implement reusable cup systems considering (see below)

4. Lessons learned: short summary in four points

📣 It is valuable for initiatives/companies and also municipalities starting reusable cup system. The lessons learned are in parts also transferable to food and other to-go/delivery products. Not transferable to pre-packed or refill products sold in retail.

🌎 The report is not tailored to any specific country/region. Lessons learned are general enough to fit to every country/region.

⏰ Published in 2022

 💻 The report can be downloaded for free at closed loop partners website . You need to insert you email-address first. 

Ökopol carbon footprint comparison of reusable and single-use e-commerce shipping packaging in Germany: a reusable bag beats a single-use LDPE bag after a few cycles, a reusable PP box after 32 to 81 cycles.

The Oekopol Institute (Till Zimmermann, Rebecca Bliklen) carried out a comparison focussing the carbon footprint of different types of E-commerce packaging (single-use vs. reusable boxes and bags made of different material). The results are published at the GAIA Journal03/2020.

Few valid findings exist as to the environmental performance of reusable packaging
systems in online retail. It is also difficult to ascertain which factors influence these results most (such as material, weight, number of cycles). Against this backdrop, two types of reusable shipping packaging in terms of their CO2eq emissions were analysed: a reusable PP box and a
reusable shipping bag. Both were then compared with single-use alternatives.

Result:

• Compared to a single-use LDPE bag, the reusable shipping bag offered an environmental advantage after a few cycles, with the absolute carbon footprint of both bags depending on whether recycled material was used.
• For the reusable PP box, the break-even point was between 32 and 81 cycles, depending on which assumptions were made.
• For a broader application of reusable shipping packaging, further challenges arise, such as the cost-efficient design of return logistics or the optimization of the packaging design.

📣 The study includes a comparison for different E-commerce packaging (single and reusable boxes and bags) based on the carbon footprint method.

🌎 The study includes an carbon footprint for e-Commerce. Assumptions made in the study are based on German conditions, however can be transferred to other countries. Language is English.

⏰ Published in 2020.

💻 Link to the study is provided at the website of Oekopol.

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0), as stated on page 2 of the article.

The University of Marche and Tuscany performed in 2019 a standard Life Cycle Assessment comparing reusable with single use wine bottles. We know that the LCA ist not brand new, however it includes notable data and information which gives inside in the environmental performance. Two scenarios were compared within the LCA looking at 18 environment categories: Reusable glass wine bottles compare the standard scenario (recycle of glass) within a consortium in the Piceno region.

The standard life cycle for reusable glass wine bottles consists of (see picture):

• Transport to washing centre
• Whasing phase
• Sterealization phase
• Drying phase
• Packaging glass bottle

The standard life cycle for single us glass wine bottles consists of (see picture):

• Transport to washing centre
• Shredding and wasing phase
• Transport to glass production
• Glass melting and handling (inkl. input of virgin glass)
• Bottle forming
• Packaging glass bottle

The main findings of the LCA are:

• Winemaking is energy intensive. While about 60% of the energy is consumed due harvest and grape phase, still 👀around 30% of energy consumption is for packaging and bottling phases👀 . -> With adopting the packaging one can reduce a notable amount of the energy consumption.
• The production of a new glass bottle from recycled glass always requires the use of virgin material. In the case of Italy this is more than 40% in weight (number from 2019, probably lower by now)
• The comparison clearly demonstrates that reuse is a promising solution to further reduce the environmental load related to wine bottles. The environmental impact in 17 of the 18 LCA categories was lower for reuse than for recycling.
• For the recycling scenario, the most impactful flows are related to the high quantities of electricity and heat needed for the different phases, particularly for glass melting and bottle forming.
• For the reuse scenario the the most penalizing flows are related to the packaging, sterilization and drying phases.

📣 This is a scientific study discussing the results of an Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

🌎 The LCA is performed for the region of Piceno" ( Central Italy located in the Marche region). However it is noted that results can be transfered to other regions. Language is English.

⏰ Published in 2019

💻 Download for free at the website Science Direct : Analyzing the environmental sustainability of glass bottles reuse in an Italian wine consortium. 

The Heinrich Böll Stiftung together with #breakfreefromplastic (50 pages) including facts and figures on the development of plastic products, its life journey and life span, produced plastic amounts, figures on plastic waste amounts, sectors where plastic is used, the influence of plastics to humans, animals and the environment. The Plastic Atlas contains very well designed graphs to illustrate issues and facts around plastic with worldwide and European focus.

Some plastic facts about packaging are:

• Between 1950 and 2017 a total of 9.2 BILLION TONNES OF PLASTIC were produced. That is more than one tonne for each person now living on Earth. The biggest share consists of single-use products and packaging. Less than ten percent of all plastic ever produced has been recycled.
  
•  In 2018, over 1.13 TRILLION ITEMS OF PACKAGING —most of them plastic—were used for food and drinks in the EU alone. Packaging is not the only problem: agriculture uses around 6.5 million tonnes of plastic worldwide each year. In 2017 worldwide, over 400 million tonnes of plastics are produced each year. Packaging accounts for more than a third of all plastics produced 158 million tonnes).
  
• The average lifespan of a plastic packaging is 0.5 years (5 years for textiles, 8 years for electronics, 35 years for buildings)
  
• Plastic packaging waste within Europe is highest in Luxembourg, Ireland and Estonia (over 40 kg/inhabitant per year). EU Averages is 24 kg. (data from 2016)
  

📣 The Plastic Atlas It is not tailored to any specific group. It provides general figures in very well designed graphics on Plastic production, consumption, pollution.

🌎 The Plastic Atlas is not tailored to any specific region. Worldwide and European facts and figures are included. It is available in English, German, French and many other languages/regions within (Bulgaria, Greece, Czech/Slowak) and outside Europe (China, Russia, Brasil,...).

⏰ Published in December 2019

💻 Download for free at the website of Heinrich Böll Stiftung in English https://www.boell.de/en/2019/11/05/plasticatlas and for other languages: https://www.boell.de/de/plastikatlanten

Hosted by the European Reuse Barometer under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0), except the cover photo, as stated on page 2 of the report.

The Ellen MacArthur foundation published a guide (80 pages) to categorise reuse solution into 4 reuse models, which are, since the guide was published in 2020, widely used. The guidance is based on evaluating 100 initiatives and interviewing 50 experts.

After a categorization into 4 reuse models, 69 reuse solutions are pictured including information what it is, where and how it works, benefits and photos (one page per example) applying the same category to the solution. This guide was one of the first attempts to structure and categorize reuse solution and is one of the flagship reports in the field of reuse. The guide is not providing detailed information on how-to implement reuse solution. Focus is on business-to-consumer (B2C) applications.

 The four categories of reuse solution:

1. Refill at home: users refill their reusable container at home (e.g. with refills delivered through a subscription service)

2. Return from home: Packaging is picked up from home by a pick up service

3. Return on the go: Users return the packaging at a store or drop-off point (e.g. in a deposit return machine or mailbox)

4. Refill on the go: Users refill their reusable container away from home (e.g. in-store-dispensing system)

Remarkable is, that this is the first guide, merging reusable packaging and refill solution (e.g. powders, tablets, refill pouches) in the family of "reuse".

Another possible categorisation of reuse models is using three dimension is: reusable packaging (no matter if picked up at home or returned to returning point), refill at home and refill at store (or other dispensing point)

📣 This guide is valuable for initiatives, companies and the retail sector to get a general overview what is included in reuse solution and how they can look like in practice.

🌎 The report is not tailored to any specific country/region. Worldwide examples are included. Language is English.

💻 Download for free at the website of Ellen MacArthur Foundation
 

This 68-page document combines the main insights of two reports by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, produced with the support of the World Economic Forum: “The New Plastics Economy – Rethinking the future of plastics” (2016) and “The New Plastics Economy – Catalysing action” (2017). It sets out a vision on how to reduce plastic pollution. Amongst other solution reuse is given a focus. The report estimates that for a minimum of 20% of all single-use plastic packaging, reuse models could provide an economically attractive opportunity. In particular interesting are the estimates for the B2B sector, that is why there are emphasised in the summary below. The figure is a sum of the following applications suitable for reuse solutions:

• 5% from replacing personal and homecare bottles by reuse and refill solution: It is estimated that innovative delivery models could result in 80%-90% packaging material savings.

• 3% by replacing single use shopping bags with reusable ones

• 2% beverage bottles

• 7 % pallet wraps: Single-use pallet wraps (e.g., stretch wraps and shrink hoods) are currently the default choice to stabilise and secure products on pallets during transport, leading to an estimated annual pallet wrap film production of 5 million-6 million tonnes. Globally, most of the material value of these films is lost after one use cycle – even though in some regions, large and sometimes medium enterprises have dedicated collection systems for commercial film (lid and strap systems, 

• 3% large rigid packaging, such as pallets, crates, foldable boxes, pails and drums (i.e. cylindrical containers used for storing and shipping bulk cargo), have a sufficiently high material value to make reuse business models profitable. They are often used 20 to 100 times depending on the application and the vast majority are recycled afterwards

• plus x% other reuse packaging solutions

📣 The report is focussing on reusable on solution to reduce plastic pollution. Reusable packaging is one. The report is not targeted to any specific user group, figures are summarised for global level. 

🌎 The report is estimating potential on global level including examples from different countries. Language is English. 

⏰ Published in 2017

💻 Download for free at the website of Ellen MacArthur: The New Plastic Economy 

Dutch consortium report on a scalable reusable big-bag system for Europe, stating that reusable big bags are technically feasible, hygienically safe, operationally workable and economically attractive.

Over the past year, our consortium — Royal LC Packaging / WorldBag, Re3v, TrackOnline ♻️ developed by Bexter, Bas van den Ende, and Searious Business — supported by the Versnellingshuis Nederland Circulair Moonshot Programme — has been investigating how to develop a scalable reusable Big Bag system for Europe. 🔍 Top findings: There is now clear evidence that reusable Big Bags are: ✔ technically feasible ✔ hygienically safe ✔ operationally workable ✔ economically attractive (with major cost-savings potential) In short: #ReuseAddsUp — and it’s ready to scale. With PPWR reuse targets approaching, reusable systems are no longer optional. They are a strategic, future-proof solution for every industry that relies on bulk packaging. 🌍 We are now preparing the next phase: a large-scale, multi-company pilot to bring reusable Big Bags to market reality. 👉 If your organisation wants to be part of this next step, we’d love to hear from you. Contact rosemarie@seariousbusiness.com Rosemarie Quite #ReusablePackaging #TransportPackaging #PPWR #ReuseTargets #Reuse #CircularEconomy #BigBags #FIBCs

City to Sea and Circular&Co blueprint, based on interviews with 20 industry experts, for setting up a returnable hot-drink cup scheme: system and cup choice, logistics, finances, behaviour change, communication and impact measurement.

City to SEA together with Circular & Co published a blueprint for setting up and running a successful returnable cup scheme for hot drinks (42 pages).

Purpose of the guide is to support anyone wanting to provide an alternative solution to disposable, single-use take-away coffee cups and explore circular, returnable systems – from café owners, to community groups, university campus managers, large employers, office caterers, tourist hotspots, local authority teams and everyone in between. 

The guide is based on interviews with 20 industry experts, leading reuse brands and businesses and shared own experiences of working in this sector.

The chapters include information on:

• choosing the right system
• choosing the right cup
• logistics and infrastructure
• finances
• behaviour change
• marketing and communication
• measuring impact

📣 The report is focusing on reusable cups for hot beverages.

🌎 The report is based on experiences made in cafes and restaurants in the UK, however results are transferable to other regions. Language is English.

💻 Download for free at the website of City to Sea.