The UK-based plastics resource efficiency and recycling charity Recoup has launched new guidance to support stakeholders with the design of reusable plastic packaging that meets the needs of the packaging value chain.
This inaugural edition of ‘Reusability by Design’ is intended for everyone from packaging manufacturers, packer/fillers, brands, retailers, consumers, service providers through to waste management companies and has been produced as a workstream of the UKRI funded TRACE project. TRACE, an acronym for Technology-enabled Reusable Assets for a Circular Economy, is a multi-partner project led by Pragmatic, with Recoup, The University of Sheffield, Topolytics, AMRC (Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre) and Ken Mills Engineering as participants.
The project aims to explore the reasons why large-scale reuse has thus far failed to take off. It examines aspects such as consumer perception of reusable packaging, traceability of packaging and the lack of design guidance available.
The guidance, compiled on the basis of research, surveys, workshops and interviews, identified a the main challenges to adopting reusable packaging on a large scale that could be addressed by design. These included ensuring customer uptake, implementation cost and traceability. It describes various technical aspects to be considered during the design phase of reusable packaging, among which material choice and durability, size and shape of the packaging, visibility of the product, closure type, tamper evidence requirements and decoration.
At the same time, it is important to weigh these against such factors as consumer needs, food safety, washing and cleaning requirements and impact on transportation. The design implications on end-of-life scenarios for the packaging, when it leaks or leaves the reuse system must also be taken into consideration.
“It is hoped that these guidelines, which reflect stakeholder’s views, along with the wider findings of project TRACE, will assist with progress towards a world where reuse is more commonplace for packaging,” said Katherine Fleet, head of Sustainability and Circularity at Recoup.
The ‘Reusability by Design’ guidance is available to download for free from the Recoup website. A Recoup is also hosting a webinar about the guidance on design requirements for reusable plastic packaging on 2 March 2023.