As retailers lose interest and funding dries up, regulation is the only way to get reuse schemes back on track, says David Burrows.
The sole social media platform I use is telling me it is World Refill Day (June 16th). I wondered whether to sigh or cry as I thought of all those who continue to work tirelessly to nudge us cup-by-cup away from the make-take-throw model on which our society and many of our food and foodservice businesses rely.
“The public is ready, but retailers, brands and government are stuck,” said City to Sea CEO Jane Martin, as she published another survey showing how hungry people are for this change.
Maybe they are but the vast majority are not showing it – and I have my doubts whether they will unless the government intervenes.
Guilty measures
Martin suggested the public is “carrying the guilt” of single-use, which is perhaps closer to the mark – but still a fair way off. Intelligent, well-meaning peers of mine continue to be content with their single-use cups for example (despite some being furnished with reusable ones on birthdays).
I get it: life is busy. But we all need to show more willing. And we also need to recognise this won’t be enough: if we can’t encourage people to recycle more than 50% of their household packaging then the chances of them bringing refillable containers to the supermarket are slim.
The results from reuse trials have been a mixed bag. Even the successful ones appear to peter out. Take the Refill Coalition project involving Aldi, Ocado, Go Unpackaged and supply chain solutions company CHEP, which “successfully demonstrated that these circular concepts can excite and engage shoppers – […] with maximum sales shares on a given week of 57% for in-store and 43% for online – while meaningfully reducing packaging waste and carbon footprint, without disrupting operations”.
Waitrose, M&S and Morrisons have also been involved at various points of the coalition, which was established in 2020. But today Ocado is the last retailer standing, which must leave shoppers a bit baffled about what’s going on. Companies say scalability is not currently possible due to a “lack of wider retailer adoption”, according to The Grocer. Supermarkets are also preoccupied with the cost of living crisis, suggested UK Research & Innovation, which provided some of the funding for the work (Innovate UK’s funding has now ended).
Still, on the plus side we do have an apparent blueprint for those looking to mainstream refill in their operations. A whitepaper has also been produced from the trials. The document details plenty of potential across its 34 pages but these 100 words on ‘external factors’ are telling: “Funding was awarded in 2020 and so the project faced a number of unprecedented external challenges – from covid-19 to the cost of living crisis, as well as conflicts in Europe which lead to material scarcity and supply chain issues.”
Fair points. Mind you, movement towards reuse can improve resilience in the face of future challenges like these.
The report goes on: “This was coupled with the ongoing challenges faced by all reuse projects such as a lack of real data and evidence on which to make decisions; short-term commercial considerations amongst industry; a lack of understanding how the benefits of reuse can contribute to businesses’ net-zero targets; and a continued lack of focused regulation and legislation driving the transition to reuse.”
The data excuse is fast-becoming folly – especially now that we have the coalition’s blueprint. And soon we’ll have further evidence of what works and what doesn’t on the high street from the big Hubbub trial in Glasgow with reusable cups being used and returned across a handful of major coffee shop chains. The contribution this makes to achieving net-zero may not be massive for many companies, but it can be hugely impactful for wider environmental protection and resource efficiency.
Refill reality
The commercial considerations of food companies will always be short-term, which is why the carrot of funding for trials will never result in lasting change. The government needs a stick to take a swipe at single-use but it is scared to do so.
“[…] we want to send a powerful message that the new reuse economy isn’t a distant future – it’s a reality we already live in,” reads the World Refill Day website. I am sorry to say that in the UK it most certainly is not.
