17. Reusable Packaging for B2C Supply Chains

Single-use packaging is one of the major contributors to the growing issue of plastic waste, pollution, and resource depletion. A promising solution is a switch to reusable packaging. However, although the market for reusable packaging is experiencing rapid growth, the large-scale adoption of reuse systems is still challenging. In this chapter, we review the development of reusable packaging systems in the B2C business. We specifically focus on three waste hotspots of consumer-facing packaging: (1) the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, (2) e-commerce, and (3) takeaway food services. We first present a general framework characterizing the fundamental structure of reuse systems, independent of the application. For each application area, we then highlight different challenges to be mastered for large-scale adoption and, thus, effective reduction of single-use packaging. Moreover, we provide some directions for future research in the area of reusable packaging systems.