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At Reusables UK Ltd we believe the main obstacle to a circular economy is a comprehensive and cost efficient collection infrastructure. Once that is in place people we will see opportunities to use that infrastructure to create reusable products.
The simple idea is that if a high enough percentage of reusable goods can be retrieved then each unit can be resold multiple times - allowing higher material costs to be recovered over multiple sales and effectively changing cost of production from manufacturing to cost of retrieval. If retrieval costs per unit are low enough we can make reusable packaging commercially competitive, cheaper even than single use or recycled products.
To have a high percentage retrieval rate we needed a collection concept that reduced obstacles that could prevent the general public from using it, it has to be as simple to use as possible and with minimal additional obligations on waste producers. We believe we have developed a concept that can do this and much more. Explore our site and see what we can offer and how you can help.
HOW WILL REUSABLES WORK?
Initially Reusables was researching adding an extra collection service ourselves for Reusable products. However our research indicated this wasn't feasible as it would require some changes to the general public's behaviour. Enough resistance was anticipated that it would impact retrieval percentages.
We came up with a better solution and have changed focus to consultancy and advocacy - seeking to persuade local authorities and waste companies to support the addition of a sorting phase, provided either by ourselves or the waste company, to existing refuse collection services. There we will remove any reusable materials before the rest of the waste continues along the normal processing path. For anything to be in a fit state for reuse will be advocating stopping compaction of waste during collection.
Adding a sorting phase to existing collection processes keeps extra collection costs to a minimum and will produce higher retrieval rates, whilst imposing no extra responsibilities or costs put on the public. As more products are developed for reuse we predict this will generate profits large enough that collection costs can be reduced, saving local authorities money whilst actually improving the service being provided.
WHERE DOES IT ALL GO?
Waste collections will be taken to processing centres. Ideally these will be located on the the refuse centre's premises. There they will be sorted and directed to the relevant cleaning service. We anticipate 4 services: food and beverage containers; chemical product containers; reusable flatpack cardboard boxes (several companies have developed washable cardboard boxes that fold easily for simple reuse. We expect this product to become very popular once our services are in place); and clothing.
After washing the food and beverage, chemical and cardboard packaging will be sold back to the companies that manufactured the packaging - to their local distributors. They can then resell the packaging to their customers. This will enable packaging producers to design more expensive, reusable, products as they can recoup the extra expense through reselling the same unit multiple times.