Gillian Garside-Wight, Consulting Director aura
Important points:
- Collaborative sustainability: Brands, even strong competitors like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, are working together to promote Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) and create a unified message to demonstrate industry-wide commitment to recycling and environmental responsibility. You should consider doing so.
- Regulatory preparedness: Companies are proactively adapting their packaging to comply with emerging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and DRS regulations to ensure products are recyclable, avoid financial penalties, and protect brand reputation. New standards must be met to maintain.
- Consumer education is very important. Successful recycling efforts require a comprehensive communication strategy that not only informs consumers how to participate in DRS programs, but also creates ongoing engagement and a sense of shared responsibility for sustainable packaging.
MIT research I recently found We believe that the national Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will greatly facilitate recycling. These container deposit laws, also known as “bottle bills,” are already in place in 10 U.S. states, including California, Maine, and Michigan. Similar initiatives have begun around the world. UK program could be operational by 2027 (But for now not wales) and launch in Ireland early this year.
These represent a huge opportunity, especially for beverage brands, providing even the fiercest rivals with the opportunity to work together for the greater good.
Do you have time to form a team?
Specifically, Bottle Bill’s success is based on collaboration. While brands will need to work with local authorities and collection scheme operators, this may actually be a great opportunity for brands to collaborate with each other.
Imagine a world where Pepsi and Coca-Cola, two beverage giants, have joined forces to demonstrate sustainability, and where deposit returns are the global norm. That’s natural. There is no competition for customers because the purchase has already been made. This is the life of the product, and both brands will face the same challenges in communicating the value and necessity of DRS.
The power of joining forces, not just with Coca-Cola and Pepsi, but across all brands, is that by doing so we demonstrate to consumers that the cost of the bottle matters most. de facto Industry standard. It’s not just initiatives developed independently by one brand.
Brands could share the same message and even share the cost of promoting it. You can also consider using celebrity influencers and supporters to spread your message. In addition to talking about how great your drink is, you can also tell them what to do with the bottle or can when they’re done drinking it.
DRS and EPR go hand in hand
There is also a direct correlation between the DRS program and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), a new standard to ensure that producers are responsible for their packaging throughout its useful life. fees and/or fines (and may also include accommodations). (if present, these are determined by recyclability and inclusion of recycled content). EPR is currently in force in North America, Europe, and other regions.
Countries seeking approval of EPR regulations are likely to be interested in bottle bills (and vice versa). This is because while bottle bills are designed to increase recycling rates, bottle bill programs result in increased amounts of post-consumer recycling (PCR). Creating more responsible packaging requires materials that are in demand and ideally should be recyclable. One feeds the other.
This is very important because the best EPR methods are environmentally friendly. Producers who use more recyclable packaging therefore pay less.
As more types of recycled packaging become available, regulations, incentives and subsidies are also expected to increase. Additionally, interest in bottle fees in a particular state or country is an indicator of consumer interest in recycling more broadly.
What does this mean for FMCG brands and retailers?
This puts the onus on brands to ensure their packaging and products are covered by the Bottle Bill. This means everything from making sure your bottle materials and formats are compatible to using the correct labels. This includes everything from labels to bottle cap colors to the interlocking caps currently in use. Mandatory for plastic bottled drinks If sold within the EU, it must be designed to facilitate the collection process.
Beverage manufacturers considering selling in states and countries with DRS programs should prepare accordingly. Although costly, the cost of non-compliance is much higher, not only in terms of EPR fees, but also in terms of brand reputation and perception among an increasingly sustainability-conscious consumer base. There is a possibility that
Any solution will also require a communication strategy to encourage changes in consumer behavior. Both EPR and bottle fee regulation work better in areas where consumers already recycle waste and packaging, but further incentives and incentives are needed to ensure the future success of this initiative. Education is essential.
Brands need to educate consumers on how to use relevant DRS programs. Additionally, if your company’s bottles and cans do not comply with the Bottle Bill, the machines will not accept them, so you need to clearly communicate this fact.
They should also consider ways to move beyond financial incentives to encourage consumers to return DRS-compliant containers. How can they avoid complacency and keep reimbursement incentives attractive even after initial interest has grown? How can they educate, inform, and up the chain of responsibility? You need to help create it.
For accurate and reliable on-pack labeling, brands must work together to educate consumers on the recyclability of their packaging. To reduce consumer confusion and increase trust, technology must be used to accurately communicate recycling instructions at scale.
Education is paramount to responsibly conveying information directly to consumers. Dynamic labeling of packages allows end users to dispose of packages in the correct route based on their postal code.
And it’s even better if a brand can partner with a fierce competitor to send the message to consumers that the future of our planet is more important than their competitors.
With over 25 years of experience in the packaging industry, Gil leads Aura’s consulting offering, strategically developing packaging strategies, roadmaps and packaging solutions that meet the needs of clients, consumers and the planet. She has worked with many global retailers and household brands on projects ranging from sustainability and innovation to supply chain optimization. With a true passion for sustainability, her quest is to educate, influence and promote the circular economy wherever possible, complementing creativity, technical capabilities and commercial reality.
