Ocado Retail and the UK Refill Coalition have announced a pilot of a new reusable packaging scheme in an effort to reduce the use of single-use packaging from customers’ weekly shops.
Refills are seen as a key component in tackling single-use plastic packaging waste and the UK Refill Coalition, convened in 2020 by refill experts GoUnpackaged, aims to develop and test a standardised solution to deliver refills at scale for in-store and online The Coalition comprises Aldi UK, Ocado Retail, and the supply chain solutions company CHEP.
The Coalition has partnered with leading global manufacturers Berry Global, DIGI and Eden and Trade Fixtures who have developed new equipment to create the solution and is supported by UK Research & Innovation’s Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Challenge fund, delivered by Innovate UK.
The Ocado trial
The trial will use a reusable vessel, developed specifically to deliver food cupboard staples and laundry products at scale, with no extra cost to the customer. The new reusable range will include frequently purchased items: Ocado Reuse Basmati Rice 2kg, Ocado Reuse Penne Pasta 1kg, Ocado Reuse Non-Bio- Liquid Detergent 3L, and Ocado Reuse Skies Fabric Conditioner 3L, reducing the use of single-use plastic on everyday items while providing the same quality and value.
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 (based on 500g of rice) and is designed to be used over 60 times, leading to a significant reduction in single-use plastic over time.
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 will manage the washing and logistics for Ocado Retail for this part of the trial.
Research shows consumer concern
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%).
While supermarkets are making steps to reduce plastic packaging, figures from this year’s Big Plastic Count estimate that up to 90 billion units of single-use plastics are sold by the UK grocery market each year (The Big Plastic Count 2024, Greenpeace & Everyday Plastic, https://thebigplasticcount.com/results).
Since October 2023, Aldi UK and CHEP have trialled the Refill Coalition’s vessel-based in-store refill solution in two stores and are showing promising results. Across the trial stores, the loose products available via the refill solution are contributing up to 30% of sales within their categories, alongside their single-use packaged versions.
Comments from the partners
The UK Refill Coalition says: “We are delighted to see Ocado Retail launch the online trial – a direct to consumer reusable packaging solution that has taken over 3 years of collaboration to bring 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: “Most people understand refillables and know they work in a physical store, but this is the first time it has been trialled online at such scale. 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.”
Paul Davidson, Director of the Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge, which is delivered by Innovate UK and has co-funded the work of the Refill Coalition, said: “Online retail offers a unique opportunity to develop and embed reuse and refill in our everyday shopping experience and we are delighted to see the Ocado Retail trial going live. The trial will provide the opportunity to explore how refill can be made convenient and habit-forming for consumers and empower them to make a real contribution to reducing single-use plastic packaging through their online shopping.”
Photo credit: Ocado Retail
