ISTANBUL 

Reusable systems could play a crucial role in reducing global emissions and reducing single-use waste, sustainable entrepreneur Jonne Hellgren said Saturday at the Zero Waste Forum in Istanbul.

Jonne Hellgren, the founder of the Finnish company RePack, explained that his company offers reusable packaging for e-commerce deliveries, with customers able to return used packets for free via mail or retail drop-off points.

“We collect them, refurbish them, and put them back into circulation in order to reduce single-use packaging waste,” he told Anadolu.

A former sustainability consultant, Hellgren said RePack was inspired by Finland’s bottle return system, which has a 98% return rate.

“We wanted to apply the same thing to e-commerce,” he said, adding that the initiative enables him to demonstrate to his children that he is working toward a more sustainable future.

Motivate people to return empties

Hellgren observed that scaling reusable systems globally is more dependent on infrastructure and behavior than packaging design.

He said: “It's more about the system, the infrastructure, how to collect empties from consumers in an efficient manner, and how to make it easy for you to return them.

“And then, how to motivate people to return them and how to make it rewarding.”

New EU packaging rule

He also pointed out short-term thinking among brands and consumers, which has been exacerbated by recent geopolitical and economic challenges, particularly those after COVID-19.

Before the pandemic and 2019, innovation and consumer engagement could have made reuse mainstream even without regulation, he said, adding: “Today, we live in a different type of environment. We have major political issues.”

Because of these circumstances, he believes the European Union's new legislation requiring reuse by 2030 is a significant step forward.

Reducing CO₂ emissions

Hellgren said reuse can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 80% compared to single-use cardboard or paper packaging, making it a “great tool” for tackling CO₂ emissions.

“In today's environment, we need to do absolutely everything we can to reduce emissions globally,” he said.

RePack, which won the Nordic Council Environment Prize in 2017, partners with over 200 e-commerce companies to provide reusable packaging solutions.

The zero-waste company produces packaging that is made from post-consumer recycled polypropylene and is designed to be reused up to 20 times.