Potential and Challenges of Reusable Packaging

At FACHPACK, the panel discussion “The Future of Reusables and Packaging” addressed the question of where the retail sector, especially e-commerce, and the packaging industry are heading with regard to reusable and disposable packaging.

Under the moderation of Matthias Mahr, the experts – including start-up founders – discussed which adjustments were necessary to meet the current challenges. Doris Diebold, CEO and founder of hey circle GmbH, explained that her reusable shipping system had a high return rate because customers have to pay for the shipping bags, if they don't return them.

Marc Engelmann, CEO and founder of Boomerang, also reported positive experiences with his reusable system. And Rudi Siegle, Managing Director of reuse.me, explained that his reusable system worked with a “reward” on the wheel of fortune. Anyone who returns the shipping packaging has a chance of winning a gift. Siegle emphasized that sustainable shipping systems were only successful if they were in harmony with economic efficiency. Sustainability should, therefore, not be associated with a sense of sacrifice or loss. “We know that the biggest hurdle is the end consumer,” said Siegle. Whether they return the packaging was ultimately a voluntary matter.

Felix Brandenburg, Governmental Affairs Manager at the Ardagh Group and Managing Director of the Beverage Can Forum, shed light on the topic from the perspective of manufacturers of disposable packaging and beverage cans.

“We get 99 percent of all beverage cans back,” he said. The high recycling rate showed that disposable cans also have ecological advantages. Brandenburg called for an ecological optimization of the entire beverage packaging market. In his opinion, a blanket promotion of reusable packaging would not make sense ecologically.

Pit Klepatz, Managing Director of Logipack GmbH, reported on successful reusable systems in the beverage industry. In order for reusable packaging to function economically and sustainably in practice, there were many factors to consider. This would begin with the selection of the reusable bottle and the load carrier and range from the distribution and logistics concept to bottle sorting and the provision of empties. However, he conceded that the standards from the beverage sector could not be transferred one-to-one to other products.

“A circular economy without reusable bottles is pointless”

André Pietzke, Chairman of the Board of Mehrwegverband Deutschland e. V., pointed out the opportunities for extending reusable packaging to many other areas. If reusable systems were convenient for customers, they would be successful, he said. “The consumer needs a learning phase. Once the basic conditions have been created, reusable packaging is purely a learning process. We know this from the experience of many pilots and the reality of more than 50 years of reusable drinks. We need convenience, clear labelling, deposits or alternative systems to incentivize or normalize the return process and interaction between retailers, system management, and producers,” he said in an interview with FACHPACK360°. This was exactly what the new generation of reusable system providers stand for.

Reusable packaging was conceivable for many products in the consumer goods sector, said Pietzke. In the cosmetics sector, the ecological and economic potential of reusable packaging was already calculable. In the panel discussion, Pietzke cited the Zerooo system from SeaMe GmbH as an example. The system operates the reusable pools as a service provider and works with plastic containers.

“A circular economy without reusable packaging is pointless,” said Pietzke. He hopes that politicians will “recognize” the need to break new ground. Doris Diebold called for a binding reusable quota for all transport packaging without exception and, therefore, stricter guidelines. Engelmann wanted online retailers to have “more courage” to try out new shipping systems.