Ocado Retail launches reusable packaging pilot with Refill Coalition
Each vessel replaces up to five single-use plastic items and is designed to be used over 60 times, leading to a significant reduction in single-use plastic over time
Ocado Retail has become the first major supermarket to pilot a new reusable packaging scheme in partnership with the Refill Coalition, in an effort to reduce the use of single-use packaging from customers’ weekly shops.
The trial, staged across two phases, will use a reusable vessel, developed specifically to deliver food cupboard staples and laundry products at scale, with no extra cost to the customer. If every household in the UK opted to reuse just one item per week, it would eliminate over 1.4 billion items of single-use packaging per year.
The new reusable range will include frequently purchased items to reduce the use of single-use plastic on everyday items while providing the same quality and value. Phase One of the trial, starting in August, will include Ocado Reuse Basmati Rice 2kg and Ocado Reuse Penne Pasta 1kg.
Phase Two, coming later this year, will add Ocado Reuse Non-Bio-Liquid Detergent 3L and Ocado Reuse Skies Fabric Conditioner 3L to the trial.
The reusable container is pre-filled with product and delivered to customers alongside the rest of their Ocado shop. Customers then return the empty container to their next Ocado driver. The containers are then collected from Ocado and hygienically washed before being filled again at the supplier.
Each vessel replaces up to five single-use plastic items and is designed to be used over 60 times, leading to a significant reduction in single-use plastic over time.
Research among more than 2,000 consumers undertaken by Ocado Retail and Savanta revealed that there is growing public demand to reduce the use of single-use plastic from grocery shops.
Almost three quarters (72%) are concerned about the amount of waste generated by single-use packaging of grocery products, with one in three opting to use retailers that provide refillable options for their pantry staples. The majority of consumers (73%) also agreed that more supermarkets should offer refillable options, especially across essential items such as pasta (66%), rice (67%), liquid laundry detergent (50%) and fabric conditioner (46%).
As a founding member of The Refill Coalition and the world’s largest dedicated online supermarket, Ocado Retail’s aim is to lead on developing an industry standard for online reusable packaging that can be used by any supplier or retailer. This will enable fast adoption by industry to make reusable packaging available to every UK customer.
GoUnpackaged, the UK’s leading refill experts that convened the coalition in 2020, will manage the washing and logistics for Ocado Retail for this part of the trial.
The Refill Coalition has jointly said: “We are delighted to see Ocado Retail bring a direct to consumer reusable packaging solution to market. As a Coalition we share the mutual objective of reducing single-use plastic packaging and believe that the solutions we have developed present a landmark opportunity for us to make a step change in the commercialisation of reusable packaging which we know can play a significant role in the reduction of single-use plastic packaging.”
Simon Hinks, product director at Ocado Retail: “We’re proud to be the first major supermarket to pilot an online reusable packaging scheme. Most people understand the concept and know it works in a physical store but this trial brings the solution straight to customers’ doors. Our customers are already used to giving their bags back to our drivers for recycling – so this is a really sensible next step for us to help our customers reduce single-use plastic on products they buy frequently.”