Unpackaged Systems: A real world trial of a circular supply chain solution to scale refills for in-store & online retail

Single-use plastic packaging is now firmly on the public's mind. Whilst government and industry have started to look for solutions, most innovation to date has focused on lightweighting, creating alternative single-use materials to SUPP or improving collection and recycling systems. While these are valuable improvements, Unpackaged believes the focus should be at the top of the waste hierarchy - i.e. the reduction, reuse and refilling of packaging - which would represent a true shift from a linear to a circular economy solution for plastic packaging. Refill (either in-store or at home) removes the need for single-use plastic packaging, as products are dispensed directly into customers' own reusable containers. If this concept were rolled out across mainstream supermarkets, it would dramatically reduce the amount of SUPP being placed on the market by UK retailers. With InnovateUK support, Unpackaged has assembled a Coalition of key UK retailers, a logistics partner and industry leading equipment manufacturers to design an optimised refill solution. This solution will be tested via a multi-retailer, multi-site, live Demonstrator Trial looking at everything from operational viability to consumer engagement and take-up. This will be the most ambitious collaborative cross-sector refill project to date, both in the UK and globally; and an example of how competitors can collaborate to solve the single-use plastic packaging crisis.