Returnr aims to replace single use takeaway packaging

by Startacus Admin

The Melbourne-based startup Returnr that has "Shared use, less resources, less waste" at its core, aiming to replace single use takeaway packaging with equivalent reusable solutions...

Waste from packaging is a massive problem, with plastics being the most obvious and most prevalent. If you make your lunch at home to take to work with you, you are contributing less to this waste, but you are also in the minority. Most of us go out for lunch at least some days of the week, and this means a plastic box with our salad, a plastic-coated cardboard cup with plastic lid for our drinks, plastic knife and fork, etc. Which, naturally, all gets thrown away when we have finished eating or drinking.

We have written before about startups such as BioCellection and Plastech Innovation, which are developing ways to deal with this plastic waste, but what about dealing with the problem before it occurs?

Melbourne-based startup Returnr has its sights set on the processes leading up to this waste being created in the first place. The idea is simple: instead of single-use takeaway containers that get thrown away, why not use containers that can be returned and reused? After all, chances are you will be going back to that same place for lunch again.

Returnr products are made from materials chosen for hygiene, safety, and longevity, and are used at no additional cost to the customer besides a small deposit. When you have finished, just rinse out the Returnr container and take it back to any café or restaurant in the Returnr network to get back your deposit.

In November, Returnr launched the Workplace Micropool which, as the name suggests, provides a Returnr workspace and collection of bowls, cups, and lids to your place of work. These can be used for your own food of course, or they can be taken to the local café not yet in the Returnr network for them to prepare your food in.

Returnr has partnered with Deliveroo in Victoria, Australia, so customers can opt to use the Returnr option when they make their food order, and the restaurant will pack their food in one to be delivered as normal. With an initiative like this, we think Deliveroo (and Australia) will just be the beginning for Returnr...

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• #australia
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• #consumers
• #plastic

Published on: 8th December 2019