The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, working with Systemiq, Eunomia and more than 60 organisations including Danone, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Unilever, modelled the full cost of returnable packaging in France: containers, washing, collection and transport back to be refilled.
In a well-designed system with shared infrastructure, standard containers and high return rates, the total cost per use of returnable plastic drink bottles was 6% lower than single-use, and returnable personal-care bottles 10% lower. With a plastic tax (€800 a tonne) and a carbon price rising from €45 to €100 a tonne added, returnable drink bottles came out 28% cheaper per use; packaging fees for drink bottles were assumed to stay the same. Emissions and water use also fell by 35 to 70 percent.
The report is just as clear about the limits: fragmented or small-scale schemes are unlikely to become as cheap as single-use, and returnables for fresh food and food-cupboard products were about 25% more expensive unless income from unreturned deposits is counted.
Why it matters: reuse pays when it is shared and scaled. For a single company, the practical route is joining a pooled scheme rather than building one alone.