The report, “European Reuse Barometer”, looks at the economic, environmental, and social impacts of ninety reusable packaging solutions across Europe. This first edition is the only overview of the vibrant and growing European reuse industry. However, challenges like private and public sector adoption should be further pushed to support this transition and achieve scale.
As the takeaway and e-commerce sectors are working out their profitability pathway when it comes to reuse, there is growing optimism for the future. In the takeaway industry, CLUBZERØ’s life cycle assessment shows that it has saved 2.6 million single-use items from landfills, 39 tonnes of CO2, and 260 m³ of water through its use of reusable packaging. Half of e-commerce solutions analysed simplify returns for customers by using national mailboxes for returns.
Financial incentives are effective in increasing return rates for reusable packaging, especially in e-commerce and takeaway sectors, where return rates have been shown to exceed 95%. While upfront deposit systems are important in encouraging consumer engagement with reusable packaging (used by 81% of cases analysed), deposit systems that charge a fee if the packaging is not returned after a set period tend to have higher return rates compared to upfront deposits, with 77% of post-paid solutions reclaim packaging within 5 days.
Future editions of the European Reuse Barometer will focus on solutions in Eastern and Central Europe, supported by Planet Reuse’s expanding network. Active efforts are underway to establish local partnerships with organisations in each country and to intensify business outreach, enhancing the granularity and impact of this market analysis initiative. New partners are invited to join in driving sustainable reuse practices throughout Europe.
