RECOUP launched the inaugural edition of ‘Reusability by Design’ in early 2023 to assist stakeholders with the design of reusable plastic packaging that meets the needs of the value chain from packaging manufacturers, packer/fillers, brands, retailers, consumers, service providers through to waste management companies. Based on research, surveys, workshops and interviews, the guidance highlights the need for collaboration alongside consideration of the whole value chain needs when designing reusable packaging.

The guidance has been produced as a workstream of the UKRI funded TRACE (Technology-enabled Reusable Assets for a Circular Economy) project, led by Pragmatic, with RECOUP, The University of Sheffield, Topolytics, AMRC (Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre) and Ken Mills Engineering as partners. Project TRACE aims to address some of the challenges that currently prevent large-scale reuse, such as consumer perception of reusable packaging, traceability of packaging and the lack of design guidance available.

You will learn:

1. An understanding the key areas for focus when considering adoption of reusable packaging.
2. An understand the requirements of all areas of the value chain to ensure that appropriate and sustainable choices are made for reusable packaging.
3. How technology enabled reusable packaging (e.g. use of RFID) can help to achieve scale.