On World Refill Day 2025, what does the refillable packaging landscape currently look like, and where does it still have left to go? We delve into this year’s innovations and setbacks so far to find out more.
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation entered into force this year, bringing with it several reuse quotas.
By 12th February 2027, food and beverage caterers must permit consumers to bring their own containers for pre-prepared, hot or cold takeaway products; they must then provide their own reusable packaging for ready-made food and hot and cold takeaway beverages by 12th February 2028.
Other reuse deadlines have been set as follows:
| Packaging type | Minimum reuse rate by 01/01/2030 | Minimum reuse rate by 01/01/2040 |
| Sales packaging for alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks (minus dairy, wines, and spirits) | 10% | 40% |
| Transport packaging (minus food-contact packaging, and packaging for dangerous goods and large-scale machinery) | 40% | 70% |
| Grouped packaging (minus cardboard packaging) | 10% | 25% |
| Takeaway food packaging in HORECA sector | 10% | TBC |
As these deadlines loom, various players in the packaging industry are pushing for an uptake in refillable solutions.
Collaboration and trials
One of the biggest stories to break this year is that Unilever has acquired Wild, a personal care brand that distributes deodorant, body wash, hand wash, lip balm, and mini deos in reusable containers.
At end-of-life, consumers can take apart a deo case’s aluminium and plastic components to be recycled separately. Wild has also partnered with First Mile to collect, break down, and recycle old packaging, with consumers receiving £5 off their next order for engaging in the scheme.
To date, founders Freddy Ward and Charlie Bowes-Lyon claim that Wild has diverted over 750,000 kg of single-use plastic since its inception, and 300 tonnes in 2024 alone. Joining forces with Unilever is expected to make refillable toiletry packaging more accessible.
At the same time, commentators hope that the brand won’t lose sight of its environmental purpose under the pressure of corporate profits and margins.
Reuse and refill trials have also emerged as a recurring pattern throughout the last year. Some are newly established, like Hubbub and Reposit’s Borrow Cup project.
Taking place in Glasgow, the returnable cup initiative spans across big brand names like Costa Coffee, Caffè Nero, and Burger King UK, as well as local cafés like Tinderbox, Sprigg, Kelvingrove Museum and Glasgow City Chambers. Its goal is to help Scotland save 388.7 million single-use cups annually.
Consumers can opt in for Berry’s reusable polypropylene cups when purchasing a drink in a participating store; this will require them to pay a £1 deposit, but the cups can be returned to any participating venue to use the cup again, swap it for a clean cup, claim their deposit back, or receive a £1 voucher at a return point.
Participating in the scheme can also earn consumers a discount or extra loyalty rewards, from an extra stamp towards a free drink at Caffè Nero to 10% off a drink at two Sprigg’s locations.
Berry claims that its cups were selected due to their durability, easy-clean design, and dishwasher-safe construction; they are also believed to be recyclable at end-of-life where the appropriate recycling infrastructure exists.
Carbon modelling is said to indicate that Berry’s cups will have a lower environmental impact than disposable alternatives after just three uses; they have also been fitted with RFID chips to allow each cup to be tracked, as well as QR codes leading to further information about the scheme.
In turn, this traceability is set to help project organizers gauge the environmental and financial viability of the scheme.
Other projects have already finished but published their findings this year. For instance, GoUnpackaged’s Refill Coalition has conducted in-store and online refillable packaging trials – an in-store refill system from Aldi (which recently came to a close, allegedly due to low retailer uptake and the cost-of-living crisis) and pre-filled reuse containers for Ocado’s grocery and personal care products.
Reportedly, in-store refills peaked at 57% in-store and achieved a weekly sales share of up to 43% online. Average figures were calculated at 30% in Aldi stores and 16% through Ocado.
Apparently, 86% of vessels were returned without deposit incentives. 97% of consumers described the refill system as hygienic and 89% found it easy to use; 96% said they would buy the reusable packaging again, with products thought to receive consistent ratings of 4.8 and 4.9 stars.
The Coalition also suggests that the refillables exceeded the environmental performance of single-use alternatives in just two cycles, citing the findings of a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) that reusables cut down on both packaging waste and carbon footprint.
In response to low engagement and returns in existing reuse systems for takeaway cups, the NextGen Consortium launched the Petaluma Reusable Cup Project in 2024. Over thirty restaurants in the City of Petaluma, California, served takeaway drinks from The Coca-Cola Company, Starbucks, PepsiCo, and other big brands in reusable cups as a default at no extra cost – a move hoped to encourage reuse behaviours.
The twelve-week initiative came to a close last November, but a subsequent report has suggested that the city-wide scheme achieved a 51% return rate, thus exceeding the 40-50% breakeven point. This is believed to indicate that, in the context of takeaway beverages, reuse is more environmentally beneficial than single-use.
Over 220,000 were said to be returned, with ‘minimal’ contamination found in the return bins. A post-opinion poll found that 80% of participants wanted the project to continue in Petaluma, and one-quarter of inbound emails to the project asked for the project to be expanded regionally or nationally.
24,000 of the unreturned cups were located in local recycling streams, the report says, and ‘many’ respondents admitted to keeping cups to be refilled and reused at home.
Scrutiny
Unfortunately, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Concerns have been raised that Coca-Cola Europacific Partners may have violated environmental laws and human rights standards by transitioning from reusable glass bottles back to single-use alternatives in Samoa.
According to UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics & Human Rights Marcos Orellana, the non-alcoholic beverage bottler Coca-Cola Amatil Limited previously introduced a reusable glass bottle system to Samoa. Consumers could pay a deposit with their purchase of a bottled drink, which would then be reimbursed when they returned their empty bottle.
Shortly after Coca-Cola European Partners acquired Coca-Cola Amatil Limited in 2021, single-use plastic bottles were reintroduced. The company is feared to have contributed to one-third of the country’s plastic bottle waste within a few months of the transition, with Samoa lacking the local recycling infrastructure to effectively handle the increase in waste.
Furthermore, the bottles are imported from abroad – a move suspected of increasing transport-related emissions, as well as the release of plastic and microplastics into the natural environment.
The Coca-Cola Company is thought to have extended grant assistance to local recycling organizations in Samoa, thus helping establish collection cages for recycling and increase awareness and education around recycling. However, Orellana cautions that the amount of single-use Coca-Cola bottles circulating in the country still outweigh the long-term financial sustainability of Samoa’s recycling operations.
Of course, the intention-action gap and consumer uptake remains a challenge. Calvin Lakhan, director of Circular Innovation Hub at York University’s Faculty of Environment and Urban Change, produced a step-by-step guide to a reuse system’s success in a recent study.
In his view, a new system should start with food staples, since this is where the acceptance of reuse is believed to be the highest. Further categories should be introduced only after their specific barriers have been addressed.
When addressing strategic barriers, operators should consider transparent sanitation protocols and system design, simple and convenient drop-off and pick-up services, and the improved visibility and expansion of system infrastructure.
Systems should be designed to integrate ‘seamlessly’ with existing shopping routines and avoid additional cognitive load; the logistics of transporting the new containers should also be considered.
Targeted communication should be created for each consumer segment. Planning benefits, ease of use, time savings, and economic incentives should be clearly advertised alongside the solution’s environmental benefits.
Operators should also remember that implementation strategies may need to be adjusted based on consumer behaviour and existing infrastructure in different geographic locations.
If you liked this story, you might also enjoy:
The ultimate guide to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation in 2025
How are the top brands progressing on packaging sustainability?
Everything you need to know about global packaging sustainability regulation in 2025
The key to increasing the use of reusable packaging in supermarkets
No comments yet