Reaching “30x30” will require innovation and transformation

NEW YORK, (November 21, 2022) – Today, Upstream released a new white paper: The New Reuse Economy: How reuse systems and services will revolutionize how we consume – which expands upon their vision to see 30% of consumable goods sold in reusable formats in the U.S. and Canada by 2030 - by transforming the food service, beverage and consumer packaged goods sectors. 30 by 30.  

Background

Today, one trillion disposable food and beverage packaging items are used each year in the US, comprising 70% of litter found in the environment. And unfortunately, the science shows that switching from single-use plastic to another single-use product trades one set of environmental issues for others.

In their latest paper, Upstream urges that a considerable portion of today’s throw-away economy can be completely replaced by reuse systems and services and paints a picture of a new reuse economy – including the ideation, strategies and most importantly, infrastructure needed to scale. In addition, Upstream aims to answer a central question: How can we get people what they want and need without all the waste? 

Highlights:

• The core concept of the New Reuse Economy is remaking packaging as a service and  not a product. And shrinking massive single-use supply chains into local and regional reuse services.

• Scaling will require aligning vision, pre-competitive collaboration by major brands, investment and policy support. 

• Consumer brands, beverage, and fast food companies are signaling that they want to address their role in plastic pollution, overconsumption and waste. 

• Some of these brands, as well as city government leaders, have also expressed interest in moving beyond recycling to set up new reuse systems and infrastructure for delivering their products. 

Key areas/recommendations for transformation include:

1. Infrastructure: Achieving scale will require the utilization of existing infrastructure (like incorporating reusable packaging into curbside recycling or bottle deposit collection), and the development and deployment of new infrastructure (like “milkman” bins on your front porch or in the apartment complex to collect reusable packaging when deliveries come). 

2. Beverage: The beverage sector is one of the ripest sectors for reuse.  More beverage reuse/refill systems operate at scale than all other open systems (leaving out closed systems like reuse for on-site dining).  And virtually all of them use Deposit-Return Systems (DRS) to ensure they get their bottles back.

3. Food Service: there’s already a reuse economy emerging for food service that has the potential to completely disrupt our current disposable food service paradigm and replace it with something better.

4. Consumer Packaged Goods: Perhaps one of the most exciting developments in the reuse space over the last several years is that most of the major Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands have piloted reusable packaging systems. In addition, many grocers and large retailers have experimented with reusable packaging - from reusable shopping bag pilots to refill stations and more. The central question is how to move from small disaggregated pilots to an interoperable system that works across brands and retailers. 

Conclusion

Every time a consumable product is sold in a reusable package, the extraction and waste cycles stop.  And with the increased attention on Scope 3 Climate Emissions from brands (the emissions from a value chain not directly owned or controlled by the company) – plus the potential for cost savings once the infrastructure is built – reusable and refillable packaging is making a comeback. 

The bottom line is that leaders are waking up to the idea that reuse can help reduce the environmental impacts of consumable products and save businesses money. It’s a win-win.