A 2024 review of life-cycle cost studies by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute found reusable packaging cheaper than single-use in most cases, including a nearly 20% cut in packaging costs for returnable produce crates.
- Authors / organisation
- Huang, Wang, Yang, Yao and Gao (IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute)
- Year
- 2024
- Journal or publisher
- IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Report C860
- Study type
- Narrative review
- Evidence strength
- Evidence: Medium
- Sample / scope
- Review of published life-cycle cost studies of reusable versus single-use transport packaging
- Key finding
- In most cases reusable packaging is cheaper than single-use; examples include a nearly 20% cut in packaging costs for returnable produce crates and 61% for multi-trip automotive packaging.
- Headline number
- Most studies find reusable transport packaging cheaper
- Caveats / how it is misquoted
- A literature review; the underlying case studies vary in quality and some are industry-reported. Savings depend on trip numbers, distance and return logistics.
- Open access
- Yes
- Verified on
- 23 September 2026
Researchers at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute reviewed published life-cycle cost studies comparing reusable and single-use packaging in retail supply chains: crates, pallets, boxes and industrial containers.
In most cases, reusable packaging was cheaper than single-use. Examples in the review include a nearly 20% reduction in packaging costs from an optimised returnable crate system for fresh produce, and a 61% cost reduction with a 68% cut in packaging waste for multi-trip packaging of automotive parts.
The savings depend on how many trips each container makes, how far it travels and how well the return logistics work. Back-of-store and business-to-business packaging, where the same partners ship to each other repeatedly, is where reuse pays back fastest.
