Reusable, returnable glass bottles for milk were commonplace in decades past. But those bottles largely disappeared with the advent of plastic and paperboard packaging. Could reusable, returnable packaging be making a comeback?
Global delivery service United Parcel Service (UPS) and global recycling company TerraCycle have joined forces with many consumer goods companies to provide reusable and returnable packaging for many consumer goods.
As described in a UPS press release, “The system, entitled Loop™, will be tested in Paris and New York as a first step toward full implementation in consumer markets. … Loop products will be delivered and picked up via a system designed by TerraCycle and UPS, representing the latest advances in TerraCycle’s long-standing partnership with UPS, a logistics leader and packaging expert.”
Loop™ partners include well-known food and personal care brands such as Nestlé’s Häagen-Dazs and Dove. Packaging will be branded, and either durable and reusable or fully recyclable. UPS will deliver and retrieve packages in reusable shipping totes instead of cardboard boxes. Customers will pay a small deposit for containers, which will be refunded upon return.
This approach is unique. As described by Esha Chhabra in Forbes, “Rather than build a new brand centered around packaging, Loop wants companies and consumers to pay closer attention to the economics of packaging: the current model incentives the cheapest options. Since compostable packaging is still more expensive, big global brands have been slow to adopt.”
If you wish, you can join the waitlist for Loop at their website, scroll to the bottom of the page: https://loopstore.com/
Source: UPS Packaging Design And Testing Enables Launch Of First-Of-Its-Kind Reusable Consumer Packaging Solution, January 24, 2019 and Why Global Brands Are Backing This New Way to Recycle, January 29, 2019