The Next “R” in the Sustainable Triad: Reuse
A few months ago, we introduced the concept of material reduction in the development of sustainable packaging and labeling ( Material Reduction ). It is the first element of the “Reduce – Reuse – Recycle” fundamentals we are all aware of. This month we talk about ‘reuse’ of packaging and packaging elements as a strategy to achieve a sustainable program. Nearly every consumer goods package produced today is a ‘single-use’ package. It will hold a product a consumer will purchase at retail, and then be discarded when the packaging is emptied. In a best-case scenario, all or some of the package components will be recycled. But what if instead of being discarded, with no guarantee that it will not end up in a landfill, or worse, one of the world’s oceans, it provided additional function to the consumer? That is the main subject of an article published in 2019 by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation – Reuse: Rethinking Packaging 1 . There are four reuse models examin...
