The Bottom Line on Reuse: Why Smart Companies Will Make the Switch
In our current consumer landscape where single-use is ubiquitous, packaging is viewed as a disposable commodity. Indeed, for corporations it is simply part of the expense of doing business. They put a product in disposable packaging, the customer buys the product and throws away the packaging, and that’s how it’s always been (or that is the common narrative—though we don’t need to look very far back in history or far beyond US borders to see the prevalence of refillable packaging). By comparison, in a reuse model, reusable packaging becomes an asset to the company and part of its very infrastructure. As a value creator rather than a cost center, reusable packaging contributes to the business' competitive advantage.
Wait a minute, isn’t reusable packaging about sustainability?
Too often, people perceive reusable packaging initiatives to be the passion work of environmentalists. They think the reasoning behind this work is based primarily on concerns about incineration of trash and litter washing up on beaches—but that's only one part of the story. At Upstream, we want to pose a challenge to widen the scope and see that reuse is, first and foremost, a core economic transformation. Why? Because it allocates the true cost of how materials move through our society.
Reuse Corrects Market Failures
The number one challenge for the reuse industry is that it is forced to compete in a world where trash and recycling are heavily subsidized. Currently, disposal is the path of least resistance for many reasons. Fossil fuel, mining, and virgin plastic production—as well as trash hauling and recycling—are all directly subsidized at the federal, state, and municipal levels. There is also a lack of accountability for the downstream externalities like costs for waste disposal and health issues like asthma, which are borne instead by frontline communities. Our society is currently set up for linear production and distribution, and regulatory frameworks do not support circularity beyond recycling. In 2021, only 5-6% of plastic waste in the US was actually converted into new products. And yet, billions of dollars per year are invested in trash and recycling—for what ROI, and by whose definition of success?
Reuse, on the other hand, is about correcting market failures and increasing economic efficiency by properly allocating costs. The cost of durability is built into the system design: upfront costs are higher, but they are amortized over time as the reusable packaging is used over and over. Furthermore, collection, washing, and redistribution costs are already built in as part of the business model. In a well-designed system, end of life management is also factored in from the beginning: reusable packaging is designed for maximum recyclability at the end of its useful life, and the pipeline for retired packaging to arrive at the MRF has already been established. Resource conservation—primarily through suppression of extraction—is inherent to a reuse system. And finally, EPR laws will essentially level the cost playing field in packaging, so that switching to reusable formats will ultimately save corporations money.
Instead of being thrown in a landfill, or in the case of recycling — munched up, baled, and sold to foreign buyers — reusable packaging is meant to be recirculated in its original form and for a singular purpose. By keeping materials in circulation locally or regionally, the reuse economy builds local wealth, creates independence from volatile global supply chains and tariffs, and establishes more accurate market signals that actually benefit communities. What’s more, reuse creates jobs and strengthens workforce and economic development: in a 300,000 resident city, a widespread reuse system can create up to 250 local, safe, meaningful jobs that can't be exported.
A Brand Leadership Opportunity
Beyond the systems and infrastructure, research consistently shows that humans are happiest when they feel connected, when they're part of something bigger than themselves. Reuse systems don't just reduce waste, they increase the touch points between people. Every reusable item has a story. It's going to be collected, washed, and returned to the system, then used by someone else next week, becoming part of a continuous cycle of care and community. When consumers participate in reuse, they're not just disposing of an item differently, they're joining a movement, and that feeling of contribution and connection generates something we desperately need more of: joy.
We hear the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector and packaging companies talking a lot about not seeing enough consumer demand for reusable packaging, or the need to first see a shift in consumer behaviors before those companies can switch to reusable formats. But in actuality, consumers buy what corporations sell them. Corporations have the power to influence consumer behavior, and right now, they have an obligation to supply better choices and create a new default. Companies like Apple, Amazon, and Netflix—to name just a few—have entirely disrupted consumer buying experiences and formats, and the result is consumer conformity and bottom-line success.
Change management support will be needed to bring corporations along on the journey of learning, design, and transformation. This means stakeholder engagement, managing and addressing stakeholder concerns, and building confidence. The transformation is much less about how consumers will “accept” reusables. Rather, corporations’ adoption of reusable packaging will be dominated by their seeing clear signs of what’s ahead, then taking a leadership role and integrating reuse into their business models.
Get Ready: The Reuse Economy is Coming, and Soon
So, what is ahead? A wave of EPR for packaging laws are currently being implemented across the US. In every EPR program to date, reusable packaging gives corporations advantages in fee reductions, exemptions, and more. Upstream offers several resources that brands and companies can use to learn more about these laws and to advocate for themselves when working with Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs).
In addition, a new reuse and retail initiative headed by the US Plastics Pact will identify one or two product categories which select brands will flip to reusable packaging formats in major retail stores in one metropolitan area—located in an EPR state. The project will catalyze the buildout of new infrastructure (or the ramping up of existing infrastructure) to accommodate high-volume circulation and recirculation of reusable CPG packaging. If all goes to plan, it will be the first EPR-funded reuse project. This level of industry collaboration illustrates how we can surmount corporate risk aversion and get the new supply chains established.
Reusable packaging at scale is not just possible: it is coming. Corporations have the power to move society toward reuse systems as the default. Changing the way they do things now will appear prescient when these regulations come into play. The only question is: who is going to lead, and who is going to follow?
