In its latest report, the U.S. Plastics Pact sets out its vision for a successful reuse system in retail: a return-on-the-go model for food, home, and personal care products, starting in regions with existing reuse infrastructure.
The Pact launched its Reuse in Retail Initiative last year in collaboration with Upstream and WRAP. Together, the partners aim to drive the retail sector’s transition into reusable packaging within an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework.
The Scoping Phase was conducted between October 2025 and January 2026. It comprised of interactive educational sessions and corresponding workshop discussions among nine companies and organizations, including Unilever, Kraft Heinz, Henkel, and L’Occitane en Provence.
The goal was to establish the key determinations for the future of the Reuse in Retail Initiative, including product categories, reuse models, and geographical region. Now the report – Reuse in Retail Initiative Scoping Phase: What We Learned and Where We Are Going Next – outlines these findings, alongside policy levers expected to upscale consumer-facing reuse in retail systems.
The report indicates that return-on-the-go is the preferred reuse model. Consumers are set to benefit from the convenience of single-use packaging, while retailers avoid operational barriers like refill-related spillages in supermarket aisles.
Return-from-home services were only appealing if there was an existing home delivery system serviced by the retailer, the report explains.
Offering a variety of product categories and SKUs in reusable packaging is expected to increase consumer exposure to the system, strengthen familiarity, and improve return rates.
The Pact recommends prepared food as the best category for an initial launch, since integrating reusable packaging into existing back-of-house operations is expected to be easy. Rotisserie chicken is highlighted as an ‘ideal’ SKU due to its high sales volumes, which is hoped to help consumers build reuse habits and boost return rates.
Fresh produce is also said to rank highly for further launches. High interest was identified for home and personal care products, but the introduction of reuse may depend on the specific SKU and the presence of existing co-packing facilities in the region, the report warns.
Among other discussion points, participants also considered whether standardizing reuse packs across SKUs and categories could help retailers lower costs; and whether dry and non-perishable foods, in particular, would last longer in bulk storage at filling locations.
In the latter case, the point was raised that reusable packaging may be easier to clean and perceived as safer by consumers.
EPR fee structures are expected to incentivize pre-competitive collaboration on reuse programmes. The report goes on to indicate that Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) should invest in return infrastructure, including wash hubs and collection systems; that reuse should be integrated into legislation such as EPR and deposit return schemes; and that public procurement and community pilots could help catalyze market adoption.
In a specifically American context, the Pact advises launching a return-on-the-go reuse model among retailers in Portland, Maine. This area was chosen due to its ‘robust’ deposit return system, as well as upcoming and local reuse initiatives among retailers, universities, and more – factors thought to have established consumer return habits and foundational infrastructure.
Other U.S. states with packaging EPR legislation – e.g. California – could be introduced in future expansions, the report adds.
“In the Scoping Phase, we learned that if we want reuse to scale in retail environments, we have to move beyond one‑off pilots,” said Crystal Bayliss, interim executive director at the U.S. Plastics Pact. “Isolated efforts won’t build the type of system consumers actually need, and the RRI offers a unique opportunity to access a wide range of expertise all in one place.”
Looking ahead, the Pact plans to launch the next phase of the Reuse in Retail Initiative in mid-2026. The Program Design Phase is expected to focus on collaboratively designing a reverse logistics system, developing packaging design, creating the consumer experience plan, and selecting a system operator for future phases.
A targeted in-store launch is scheduled for 2028. This will then be monitored, improved, and expanded to other product categories and regions.
The Pact calls for ‘sustained’ and ‘collective’ commitment from brands and retailers to respond to the report’s findings and help establish a reuse system.
“Real progress happens only when the full value chain works together—sharing costs, reducing friction, and designing solutions that truly work for consumers, retailers, brands, and supply chain operators,” Bayliss added. “Collaborative, multi‑stakeholder initiatives like this are an incredibly powerful tool to accelerate that shift, helping companies meet emerging packaging EPR reuse mandates. We welcome companies to join this exciting effort.”
On Thursday, the Pact will host a webinar about its Scoping Phase and upcoming Design Phase, concluding with an audience Q&A.
In other news, it was widely reported last year that Mondelēz, Mars, Nestlé, L’Oréal USA, and Walmart had pulled out of the U.S. Plastics Pact. Tim Sykes, Packaging Europe’s brand director, reflected on the implications of this outcome, and what it meant for the future of the Pact; but CEO Jonathan Quinn told our readers that its work ”remains strong, focused, and more critical than ever” – pointing out that shifting priorities, resource constraints, and internal transitions can influence collaborators to leave the Pact.
Unilever, Procter & Gamble, and L’Oréal have also announced their participation in The Reuse City Canada Project, a city-scale reuse initiative run across Ottawa by Reposit and the Consumer Goods Forum’s Plastic Waste Coalition. The project will test how reuse systems can offer practicality to consumers and viability to businesses when operating at scale, passing its findings on to other cities and markets.
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