REUSE INFRASTRUCTURE MODELLING
A 30%+ Reuse Future for the UK: A data-driven view of the commercial and environmental benefits of reuse at scale
GoUnpackaged’s latest research offers a data-driven view of how to achieve reuse at scale for UK grocery retail, including an outline of the infrastructure required. Developed with input from an expert Advisory Panel (Amco, Biffa, CHEP, DEFRA, Ecosurety, Innovate UK, Ocado Retail, Reath, Suez, Tesco, WRAP, and WWF), the research spans multiple product categories - from coffee to ready meals to shower gel - and various reuse scenarios, to provide an objective and evidence-based picture.
Moving to 30% Reuse - Headline Findings
Reuse at scale can deliver significant economic and environmental benefits across the whole value chain, including to citizens and society at large.
Commercial
£136m saving per year in pEPR costs (an average 94% reduction in pEPR per item switched to reuse)
£314m - £577m (12-22%) savings per year in end-to-end system costs
Environmental
95% reduction in CO₂e emissions
95% reduction in packaging materials & waste
Society
13,000 net new jobs
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Reuse at scale requires an interoperable reuse offer across multiple grocery retailers that is accessible to as many citizens as possible.
Our study uses a 30% reuse rate to represent reuse at scale, and compares three different packaging systems: single-use, reusables (or “pre-fill”) and refill in-store. To achieve 30% reuse, the UK will need to develop transportation logistics and sortation, washing and filling infrastructure, none of which currently exists at the necessary scale.
This research was undertaken to show feasible ways to scale reuse by taking a data-driven view of the cost and scale of the infrastructure changes needed. We have outlined a staged approach to get to 30% reuse with the aim of creating a “North Star” for Industry and Government to collaboratively transition the UK grocery sector to reusable packaging.
“The modelling results show, for the first time, an evidenced view of reuse working at scale in the UK for grocery retail, enabling industry and government to make insightful decisions about how to move forwards to co-create the necessary transition to reuse in the UK. We look forward to bringing the value chain together to kickstart the discussion of the next practical steps towards wide scale reuse in the UK.”
A joint statement from the Advisory Panel
