Unpackaged: A Circular Supply Chain Solution To Scale Bulk in Retail

一次性塑料（SUP）包装现在已经坚定地提上了公共议程。虽然政府和行业已经开始寻找解决方案，但迄今为止，大多数创新都集中在创造SUP包装的替代品，如生物塑料或纸张，或改进收集和回收系统，因为这允许“照常经营”。虽然这些都是有价值的改进，但我们认为重点应该放在废物层级的顶端——即减少和再利用包装——这将代表塑料包装从线性经济到循环经济解决方案的真正转变。Unpackaged拥有超过13年的零废物零售经验，并积极促进整个行业的再利用，建议与专家和行业合作伙伴组成的联盟合作，探索供应链中可重复使用包装的可行性。我们将利用现有的物流基础设施，在100%循环系统中移动散装产品，以便为店内散装分配器提供服务。我们相信，这一领域的创新对于零售商为其客户实施和扩展散装（零包装）解决方案是必要的。我们的目标是证明在供应链中摆脱SUP包装是可能的，这是一种可重复使用的替代品，在经济上、操作上和环境上都是可行的。这项研究的结果将导致我们的合作伙伴在我们测试和构建我们的解决方案时进行现场店内试验。

Single-use plastic (SUP) packaging is now firmly on the public agenda. Whilst the government and industry have started to look for solutions, most innovation to date has focused on creating alternatives to SUP packaging, such as bio plastics or paper, or improving collection and recycling systems, because this allowed 'business as usual' to continue.Whilst these are valuable improvements, we believe the focus should be at the top of the waste hierarchy - i.e. the reduction and reuse of packaging - which would represent a true shift from a linear to a circular economy solution for plastic packaging.With over 13 years of experience in zero-waste retail, and actively promoting reuse across the sector, Unpackaged proposes to work with a consortium of experts and industry partners to explore the feasibility of reusable packaging in the supply chain. We will leverage existing logistics infrastructure to move bulk products in a 100% circular system in order to service bulk dispensers in-store.We believe that innovation in this area is necessary to enable retailers to implement and scale bulk (zero packaging) solutions for their customers. We aim to prove that it is possible to get rid of SUP packaging within the supply chain with a reusable alternative that is financially, operationally and environmentally viable.The results of this research will lead to live in-store trials with our partners as we test and build our solution.