Companies to trial reusable packaging for some brand-name products
Marie Donlon | January 24, 2019A coalition of companies has agreed to trial a scheme that would replace the single-use packaging of some brand-name products with reusable containers.
The initiative, dubbed Loop, is a waste prevention project launched by recycling company TerraCycle. Participating companies including Procter & Gamble, Unilever, PepsiCo, Coca Cola, Nestle and Danone, will replace the single-use plastic packaging of a selection of their brand-name goods such as cereal, shampoo, mouthwash and other toiletries with containers that can be refilled and reused.
The pilot program, which will launch later this year in Paris and New York, will enable customers to order and refill products online. The products will arrive in durable containers that once depleted can be picked up at the consumer’s doorstep to be washed and refilled, working much like a subscription service where refills are issued automatically. Customers will pay an initial deposit for the containers that will be refundable upon the container's return.
“This is hassle-free and convenient for the consumer,” said Virginie Helias, vice president of global sustainability for Procter & Gamble. “You can receive your order within 24 hours and you can return your bottle when empty.”
Likening the concept to a modern-day milk-man, TerraCycle Chief Executive Tom Szarky said: "What Loop challenges is ownership. 99% of what we buy we throw out after just one use. Why own something when we only want the content?"
Assuming that the scheme is successful after a year-long trial period, TerraCycle expects to eventually roll it out to other cities around the world.
Without an established recycling regimen for most single-use plastic packaging, researchers around the world are scrambling for solutions that range from edible, biodegradable food packaging to starch-based packaging.
We recycle the plastic containers of all types in Anne Arundel county, Maryland.
Picking up, cleaning and then re-using containers seems to use more resources (labor, transportation, sorting, cleaning solutions, etc.) than a single-use container that can be then recycled.
Another option might be to offer the commodity in a re-usable bottle/container and also sell 'refills' in a lightweight plastic bag inside a sustainable cardboard box.
In reply to #1
Actually it is a very old idea. I worked for one of the premier Converters and proposed a Dispensor and bag solution. It is +35 years ago and the top management shot it down due to no expertise in molded plastics and high package machine development costs.
The sales department were on the other hand very positive as I could prove huge savings on material (1/8th of the current) and higher yield.
I agree that it will cost a great deal of money! On the other hand both sugar and
starch based plastics has been developed. The last problems were solved with a new conversion adhesive that also is bio degrade able (from Australia). So my old idea is today 100% biodegrade able. Dispensor to be made from starch based plastic.
Side-effect of original containers never entering the official recycle scheme: fake contents being supplied in a re-used brand-name container. t.com/india/report-u nearths-bottled-wate r-scam-heres-how-to- check-quality-ensure -its-fit-for-consump tion-3539945.html
https://www.firstpos
Side-effect in the local restaurant near your home, or a major wine merchant: high-class wine bottles refilled with bag-in-box or other fraudulent wine. gazine/wine-fraud/ .au/lifestyle/food/d rink/grapes-of-wrath -when-390-million-wo rth-of-rare-wine-was -set-on-fire/news-st ory/2dd41c069d239b64 b8d35c4df41ea6a5
small scale - http://rca.asn.au/ma
large scale - https://www.news.com
In reply to #2
Maybe the real fraud is the price charged for 'pretty good' wine?