Should Refillable Packaging Be the New Norm?

Fans gather behind the Eiffel Tower for a women's beach volleyball match between Germany and France at Champ de Mars Arena in Paris on July 28. (Image: Alain Grosclaude via France Olympique/Flickr)

The Paris Olympics Prove Reusable Packaging Is Possible On a Massive Scale

The Paris Olympics are the largest sports event ever to replace single-use beverage cups with refillable alternatives, and advocates hope it will send a clear message to event organizers and beverage brands that reuse is possible on a large scale.

(Image: Africa Studio/Adobe Stock)

What School Lunchrooms Can Teach Us About Normalizing Reuse

Schools are particularly well suited as testing grounds for budding reuse models. We spoke with Crystal Dreisbach, CEO of Upstream, a nonprofit change agency working to accelerate reuse systems across North America, to learn more.

Attendees at the Subsonic Music Festival in Sydney

New Fund Aims to Scale Packaging Reuse and Refill Systems Around the World

The Reuse Outcomes Fund will support promising reuse and refill startups in the U.S., Canada and India, leveraging lessons learned from scaling waste management infrastructure across the Global South.

Coca-Cola sells beverages in refillable glass and plastic bottles in major markets around the world. (Image: Artem Beliaikin/Unsplash)

Doesn't It Produce More Carbon Emissions? Busting Common Myths About Refillable Packaging

While billions of beverages are sold in refillable bottles around the world, there's still a lot of confusion about how these systems work and if they really reduce environmental impact compared to selling drinks in single-use bottles.

January 10, 2024

A returnable Coca-Cola bottle sold in Mexico. (Image courtesy of the author)

Bottle Refill Schemes Work in Other Countries, So Why Not the U.S.?

To people in other markets, the news that major bottled beverage brands — among the largest producers of single-use plastic globally — are already operating successful refill systems may come as a surprise.

November 15, 2023