Two visions of reusability at AIP conference

During the last keynote session of the virtual AIP Australasian Packaging Conference, two leaders from companies pioneering reusable packaging discussed the opportunities that come with such systems and the difficulties in starting and maintaining them.

TerryCycle is the force behind Loop, a reusable packaging platform that is to arrive on Australian shores (through a partnership with Woolworths) next year. The company has already deployed the system in several overseas markets.

TerraCycle Australia and New Zealand general manager Jean Bailliard was the first speaker at the last keynote session.

He said Loop is still in its infancy, but TerraCycle was inspired by the “milkman model” of the past.

“In that model the milk bottle was an asset owned by the dairy company,” he said.

“They were financially motivated to make that bottle durable.”

But, Bailliard said the model fell out of favour starting in the 1950s when disposability came to the fore in packaging. He said this shifted the ownership of the packaging from the brand owners to the consumer.

As a consumer, we buy the packaging, but we don’t want to own the packaging at the end of the product’s life. We don’t mind getting rid of it,” he said.

“The principal of loop is how to we maintain the features of disposable convenience affordability, but dealing with the waste consequences, changing the ownership of the packaging from the consumers to the brand owners.”

In response to a question from a conference attendee about food safety, Bailliard said Loop outsources the washing of the packaging to companies that wash and sanitise as their core business.

“These companies are audited by loop and have high standards,” he said.

“We even ensure there are no allergens, and make sure inbound product are not contaminating the outbound products.”

In the second half of the keynote session there was a focus on a local reusable packaging system. In September, Natures Organics launched Cove, a range of cleaning products that use reusable and refillable packaging.

Consumers can buy refillable aluminium bottles and refill them with concentrated product from recyclable pouches.

Natures Organics senior brand manager Brent Vrdoljak, who was involved in the development of Cove, said a design-thinking approach was critical in realising the project and it was important to understand what the consumers want.

“We asked people what they thought were sustainable materials, and a the top were glass and aluminium bottles; big heavy plastic bottles scored the worst,” Vrdoljak said.

“So, if people perceive glass and aluminium as more sustainable, then how do you build these materials that have good environmental credentials, and also have a positive consumer perception?”

He said this is part of the process by which they came to the idea of using aluminium bottles refilled with lightweight pouches.

Vrdoljak said green credentials were also built into the product itself.

“Most cleaning products are 80 to 90 per cent water,” he said.

“We used this opportunity with Cove to change that format as well. We use a formula that is more than four times concentrated compared to the standard. Instead of shipping water around we basically took the water out; the consumer adds water at home. The positive environmental impact is much bigger than just plastics, it’s about transport emissions, too.”

Vrdoljak also said the product performance is also an important consideration.

“It’s not enough that it’s pretty and environmentally friendly, it also has to perform well too,” he said.

“We use the latest green chemistry for high performance. Our chemicals are derived from natural and renewable sources, not petrochemicals. They work the same, they just come from a different source.