A roster of some of the biggest consumer goods companies will soon join a re-usable, re-fillable packaging based product service. Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Nestlé, and several other companies are working with Terracycle in a classic milk delivery style service. It’s called Loop and is set to launch this spring in the NY/NJ/PA area in the United States, as well as the area surrounding Paris in France.
The concept is simple. People order products. Products are shipped to them in re-usable containers. People return the empty containers. Containers are cleaned and re-filled and shipped to consumers again. Subscribers pay a refundable deposit for the container. Shipping is free if an order is over a certain size. Loop also has plans to expand to in-store retailers where customers can bring in empties to re-fill.
Regarding its impact and whether the service will actually be a net positive for the environment, it looks like Loop and the service’s participating companies have done their homework. They recognize that carbon emissions from transportation, production, and other factors would outweigh the environmental benefits if packages were only reused a few times or if products were made very far from where they were delivered. According to Procter & Gamble Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Virginie Helias, “It takes five Loop cycles of fill and reuse to be better from an environmental standpoint.”
Loop looks to be a great idea and with buy-in from so many large corporations and popular brands, it is positioned well to become a successful service that prevents a significant amount of waste. And it comes at a time when people are increasingly tired of throwaway culture. They are tired of excessive packaging and single-use food containers.
There is a patch of trash larger than Texas in the ocean, and once-pristine island beaches are being swamped with trash. Recycling is clearly not enough. Production of waste is a larger issue that needs to be addressed as well. Plastic straws and plastic bags are being banned by companies, cities, and countries. Full grocery stores are eliminating packing, and companies are creating biodegradable plates and take-out containers made from recycled materials. And now big brands are coming together to work with a service that builds re-using containers into its business model.
Conscious consumption is showing itself to be a growing, popular movement, and programs like this are a must for tackling the pollution epidemic.
This is good news!
This should have been done years ago, …..oh wait, this was done years ago with returnable glass Coke bottle and milk bottles. Why isn’t there bulk distribution in grocery stores? Use your own glass milk containers, and fill them at the store from a bulk tank? Why ship these empty containers from place to place? That is expensive and causes more motor pollution. Why is it if I need a gallon of motor oil, it comes in a very nice gallon jug? Is there any reason I cannot get motor oil from a bulk container at the auto parts store? This solution for of sending containers back, washing, and refilling is too expensive to and labor intensive. I see no reason for these people to be congratulating themselves for such a program.
That’s great news but Protor and Gamble, Unilever and Nestle products and/or ingredients are clamed to be tested on animals. When are these companied going to competely get rid of this barbaic practice.
We could learn a lot about adaptive reuse and recycling from the WWII generation. 🌍🌎🌏
Proctor & Gamble (and Nestle) are 2 of the biggest animal abuser companies in existence with absolutely no plans to alter their ways since they rake in huge profits on the misery & destruction they cause to so many species
I couldn’t agree more!
MORE SHOULD BE DONE!!! RETURN TO THE GRANDPA AND GRANDMA BETTER TIMES!!!!