Reuse systems considerations
Living Landscape of Reusable Solutions. This is a significant database - perhaps the biggest I have seen - of reuse systems around the world. Ongoing. Most recently updated 2023
KleenHub - Tap and Go. Forbes article: This Danish Startup Bets On Bank Card Tapping To Mainstream Reusable Packaging. Shortcomings - there must be hardware and trained staff on the counter.
Report: Bring it back fund. Impact and learning. Starbucks. Hubbub. 2024 Jan (File copy.)
Key takeaways:
Convenience: Make reuse as convenient as single-use by minimizing friction points, offering opportunities to return packaging.
Effective communication: Establish clear and consistent communication across various channels, including social media, outdoor and digital advertising, to explain how the system works and emphasize the benefits.
Environmental messaging: Emphasize the environmental benefits of reuse and avoid assuming that the public inherently understands why they are preferable to recycling.
Cost considerations: Keep down the cost of use and provide incentives or rewards to encourage participation and returns.
Staff buy-in: Ensure strong support from teams implementing the reuse scheme on the ground, enabling them to understand the advantages of reuse over single-use and effectively promote it to customers.
Fact Sheet: Reusable Food Packaging and foodware. Food Packaging Forum (EU). The Food Packaging Forum is a foundation and as such a charitable, non-profit organization registered and based in Zurich, Switzerland.
Reusable serviceware/packaging at markets (& events) in Aotearoa New Zealand. Reuse Aotearoa. Nov 2023 (Downloaded)
Unlocking a reuse revolution: scaling returnable packaging. Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Nov 2023. (Downloads: Insights, Full paper)
Muuse Impact Report, Hawker markets, 2023 Interesting. Highly lauded, but shows 9608 over 324 days and 8 vendors - that’s an average of 3.7 containers per day per vendor. They have the same behaviour change/adoption issue.
Making reuse a reality. A systems approach to tackling single-use plastic pollution. Global Plastics Policy Centre. 2023
Growing online‐to‐offline platform businesses: How Vytal became the world‐leading provider of smart reusable food packaging. Copy here. Recker, Jan. (2023).
Reusable packaging: Key enablers for scaling. McKinsey & Co. October 2022.
Reducing single use packaging and moving up the waste hierarchy. Gradon Diprose, Louise Lee, Hannah Blumhardt, Sara Walton & Alison Greenaway (2022). Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online
Reusable Packaging Systems in Nelson-Tasman. Reuse Aotearoa. August 2022.
Use. Reuse. Repeat. Sharing learnings on reusable packaging. Loop/Tesco. August 2022. (Slow to download. Worth the wait)
Packaging as an asset. Planet Tracker report. August 2022. A great breakdown of the accounting benefits - spoiler: it’s more profitable.
Reusable Packaging in Aotearoa – getting back to the future. Reuse Aotearoa. June 2022.
An excellent overview:
Reusable Packaging in Aotearoa paints a picture of current reusable packaging systems in New Zealand, outlines the barriers and opportunities for growth, and makes practical recommendations to councils, industry groups and government on how to support reuse.
Reuse Systems Unpacked., Hubbub, UK. June 2022
Zero Waste Waste Europe report, ”Making Europe transition to reusable packaging”, May 2022
Refillable glass containers in Aotearoa New Zealand Current context, challenges and opportunities. Glass Packaging Forum, 2022.
Reuse-Rethinking packaging. Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Scaling Up Reusable Packaging. Australian Packaging Covenant Association, Feb 2022.
How organizations can empower consumers and transition to a circular economy, Capgemini Research Institute, 2021 Data heavy paper showing levels of consumer and public engagement in waste understanding and motivations for change. 72% of consumers want to reduce waste. 44% of consumers said that their spending increased in the last 12 months for companies that engage in practices such as reducing, reusing, and recycling waste in the food and beverage industry.
Wanaka Wastebusters, Resourceful Communities survey, 2021. See what great behaviour change can come of community commitment.
Bringing Reusable Packaging Systems to Life. Closed Loop Partners 2021.
Product–Service Systems Applied to Reusable Packaging Systems: A Strategic Design Tool. Yuan Long,Fabrizio Ceschin,Noha Mansour,David Harrison, 14 March 2021.
Sustainability of reusable packaging–Current situation and trends. Patricia Megale Coelho, Blanca Corona, Rolandten Klooster, ErnstWorrell. May 2020.
Washing and drying at-scale solutions. Hobart Solutions.
What’s wrong with compostable packaging?
Ministry for the Environment position statement, March 2022.
Key takeaways:
Compostable products are still single-use, and we should focus on eliminating disposables in the first place and adopting reuse systems
Compostable products present a risk to soils, waterways and human health. Not all compostable packaging is certified in NZ, and there are no certification systems that test for all possible additives that could cause human and environmental harm.
Compostable packaging adds no nutrient value to the soil.
Most composters do not want to process compostable packaging because it devalues their final product, and councils are unanimous in not wanting to collect it at kerbside.
Even when compostable products do physically break down, because of cross contamination of waste streams and the challenges with compostable certifications, microplastics and chemicals may remain in the environment following the physical breakdown of materials.
New Zealand facilities that accept compostable packaging Spoiler: there’s only 8 industrially, and no council curbside pickup services accept packaging.
UYO review of PLA and Aqueous Dispersable Coatings on cups.
BioPak’s position statement: “Aqueous or “Plastic free” cups: why we are proceeding with caution. We are impressed to see a single-use packaging company be so considered. Top marks.
Wrap UK, Single-use cups and on-the-go fibre-composite food packaging. Feb 2022.
Key takeaways:
Fibre-composite cups achieved 2.8% recycling rate in 2019
Lid recycling in the UK is estimated to be close to 0%
No recycling infrastructure is in place for on-the-go fibre-composite food packaging
Fibre-composite cups has the largest collection network and capacity
The Future of Single-use Paper Coffee Cups: Current. Progress and Outlook 2020.
What’s up with PFAS?
PFAS is widely found in single-use packaging, especially ‘compostable’ wares, as they are responsible for waterproofing, where plastic polymer shields are absent or reduced.
The adverse health effects of PFAS on the liver and with respect to immune function are well documented. In many regions and states of the US, PFAS is banned.
PFAS overview Consumer Notice.org
PFAS in food packaging. The Packaging Forum. March 2022
What are forever chemicals, PFAS?
Food Packaging Forum (EU) Overview of PFASs
Beyond paper: PFAS linked to common plastic packaging used for food, cosmetics, and much more August 2021.
Deep Dive into Plastic Monomers, Additives, and Processing Aids June 2021.
Overview of known plastic packaging-associated chemicals and their hazards. Feb 2019.
An investigation by The Counter. 2019. The bowls at Chipotle and Sweetgreen are supposed to be compostable. They contain cancer-linked “forever chemicals.”
Dietary Habits Related to Food Packaging and Population Exposure to PFASs. Oct 2019.
Harmful PFAS Only Come From Old Food Packaging, Right? Wrong! April 2020.
Compostable food containers could release PFAS into the environment. May 2019
Microplastics
Microplastics are less concerning in single-use packaging, and more with respect to the shedding that occurs from plastic polymers, especially when these polymers are exposed to heat. While the toxicity of microplastics is less well documented, it is concerning that microplastics are found extensively in the natural environment, well documented in animals, and also in our human bodies.
Microplastic release from the degradation of polypropylene feeding bottles during infant formula preparation. October 2020.
LCA analysis
Reusable is Futurable, A Comparative Life-Cycle Assessment on the Environmental Performance of Reuse and Disposable Cup Systems in East Asia. Greenpeace, Nov 2023.
Unveiling the Complexities: Exploring LCAs of Reusable Packaging in the Take-Away Sector. July 2023. Zero Waste Europe debunking the rubbish in the Kearney report.
No silver bullet. This paper was commissioned by McDonalds EU from Kearney to use as a lobbying piece to stand against reuse regulations comnig into the EU. It is TERRIBLE. No references. Old and not-transparent data sources. Unbelievable. See ZWE report above that debunks it all. Feb 2023
UN Addressing Single-Use Plastic Products Pollution, Using a Life Cycle Approach 2021. Meta-analysis. Findings: ‘single-use’ is more problematic than ‘plastic’. Policy recommendation #1: promote reuse.
UN Single-use beverage cups and their alternatives. Recommendations from Life Cycle Assessments. United Nations Environment Programme (2021).
Finding: Overall, reusable cups emerge as the better alternative. In regions where renewable electricity makes up a high proportion of the grid mix, recycling rates are low, and consumers are aware and responsible with regards to washing practices and number of reuses, reusable cups are the clear choice.
Reusable or Disposable. Which coffee cup has a smaller footprint? Anthropocene Magazine, 2017.
Independent CIRAIG LCA study: ANALYSE DU CYCLE DE VIE DE TASSES RÉUTILISABLES ET DE GOBELETS À CAFÉ À USAGE UNIQUE (French), 2014. Shows approx 7g CO2e per SUCup emissions.
Using a Thermal KeepCup has a lower footprint than using a single-use paper cup after 8 uses and than using a compostable cup after 4 uses. KeepCup LCA report 2020. Shows approx 4.4g CO2e per SUCup emissions.
EcoCore® (Bockatech)Zero Waste Cup™ LCA — environmental impact study summary. 2020. Shows 80-82% reduction in CO2e when compared to SU cups.
Reuse Wins at Events: A life-cycle analysis of reusable and single-use cups. Upstream.
Highlight: Reusable stainless steel and polypropylene cups dramatically outperform the single-use cup options across all environmental metrics. These are the most sustainable options for events and venues.
Size of the packaging waste issue in New Zealand and globally
Packaging NZ: Overview of NZ packaging industry. Infographic. Resources.
The Future of Reusable and Refillable Packaging to 2029. Smithers market review. 2024. The latest exclusive data available in the new Smithers report – The Future of Reusable and Refillable Packaging to 2029 – show that in 2024 global value will reach $28.20 billion. Across all segments future growth is forecast at a +4.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to 2029, yielding a market value of $35.36 billion in its final year. […] The most exciting area of the market however are new consumer re-use and refill concepts. While still a nascent segment, Smithers data modelling show sales will increase at +15.0% CAGR to 2029, more than doubling in value, and approaching $1 billion in sales by the end of the decade.
Making Zero the Hero. Moulding a plastics-circularity and narrative in New Zealand. Scion paper. Good review of global plastic pacts and responses. 2022 August.
Kiwi households dispose of a staggering 1.76 billion plastic containers per year through kerbside rubbish and recycling bins. WastemiNZ: The Truth about Plastic Recycling, 2020
According to the Packaging Council of NZ, New Zealanders consume about 735 thousand tonnes of packaging every year and recycle only about 58% of it. Recycle.co.nz.
F&B Packaging stats, Euromonitor 2020.
UK, 2019: 4.2 billion cups (+/- 9%) were placed onto the UK market in 2019. For on-the-go fibre-composite food packaging, approximately 3.2 billion units (+/- 9%) were placed onto the UK market in 2019. Wrap report, 2022.