The comeback of reusable packaging is near

This opinion piece was also published on 16 February on Joop, the opinion website of BNNVARA

If we design the systems smartly, sustainable reusable packaging can replace single-use packaging on a large scale. This goes much further than the example of the coffee cup. There is no reason why delivery riders from Deliveroo or Uber Eats could not deliver their meals in reusable packaging. Or why meals in a McDonald's restaurant should by default still be served in single-use packaging. That sounds like future music. But reuse was once very normal. And in a few years, it is going to be the most normal thing in the world again.

Politicians are now seeing this too. In a letter to the House of Representatives, outgoing State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven advocated on Wednesday for national agreements to replace disposable cups and meal packaging with practical, attractive and reusable alternatives. Among other things, the government is setting up a study to explore whether halving single-use packaging is possible. We think it is, precisely because there are good alternatives.

Numerous initiatives are already challenging the status quo of wasteful single-use packaging. At Pieter Pot, you order your online groceries in reusable deposit jars. Investors believe in their project: Pieter Pot raised 2.7 million euros in growth capital at the end of last year. Ecover, a producer of sustainable cleaning products, is now also working with bottles that can be refilled in supermarkets. Wageningen University switched to reusable deposit cups from BillieCup in its canteens last year. With the deposit cup, no one has to bring their own coffee cup anymore. Waste and costs are saved. At the beginning of this year, the first catering establishments in the city centre of Wageningen also joined the system.

For years, the focus of Dutch waste policy was too much on recycling. But the environmental benefit of reuse is potentially much larger than that of recycling. With her letter, Van Veldhoven shows that the time has come to shift the focus to waste prevention and material reuse before resorting to recycling.

It is now crucial that more of these initiatives emerge. They must be given the chance to grow, to show that reuse is more sustainable and actually works on a large scale. In her letter, Van Veldhoven invites leading parties to start pilots and test various systems this year. By doing and experiencing, we will find out which reuse systems are affordable, easy and accessible for both entrepreneurs and consumers. Through Mission Reuse, a transition programme of Recycling Network, Natuur & Milieu and Enviu, we are already working on this. We test reuse systems in practice. We share our lessons learned and make policy recommendations to make reuse the new normal.

With her letter to the House of Representatives, Van Veldhoven is taking a step in the right direction. However, there is a risk that the next cabinet will linger too long in 'conducting research and consulting with involved parties' and take too little control. Whilst it is clear that the government must play the steering role, and can immediately decide to copy low-hanging fruit from abroad. In Germany, Angela Merkel's government decided that reusable packaging must be offered for take-away. Flanders bans disposables in government institutions and at public events. And Ireland is working on a levy on the provision of disposable coffee cups.

'Business as usual' leads to an avalanche of disposable packaging. We have collectively become accustomed to single-use packaging. But we can also collectively get used to reusable packaging. Enthusiastic initiatives are already emerging in society. Now it is the politicians' turn. With the letter to the House, there is already a good blueprint. The task of the next competent minister is clear: press ahead and make the plans concrete quickly.

Inge Luyten, Project Manager at Mission Reuse