PR3

Reuse is the way out of the plastics mess 

Single-use packaging is a primary cause of the plastic and climate crises. Plastic production, from recycled content or not, is a significant and growing driver of global greenhouse gases (GHGs) and much of the plastic produced for packaging ultimately winds up as garbage in landfills and oceans. Research done by The Pew Charitable Trusts in 2020 shows that reusable packaging represents the most effective way to solve this problem.

Reuse can reduce up to eighty percent of the climate impact of packaging. A shift to reusable packaging moves supply chains away from fossil fuel and global sourcing toward circular, regional economies and local employment. Reuse systems must be scaled to reach this potential.

Everyday technologies, such as wi-fi and USB ports, have standards that have allowed them to proliferate and become consistently made and used globally. For reuse systems to scale as a truly viable replacement for single-use packaging, the growing reuse industry needs similar standards.

RESOLVE launched PR3 to enable this systemic change. PR3, the private-public partnership for reusable packaging, is developing a Reusable Packaging System Design Standard to support the scaling of reusable packaging and infrastructure. Standardized systems and infrastructure will help transform the current landscape of disconnected, small-scale, reuse programs and pilots into full-scale, interoperable public-private systems. 

Such a system is now being created by the City of Seattle in collaboration with PR3, local sports and entertainment venues, and businesses. Reuse Seattle will serve as the blueprint for replicating similar systems around the world. PR3 is also in early development of a demonstration project in Jakarta.   

PR3’s founding partners and advisers included Nestle, Cisco, SAP, City of Seattle, Break Free from Plastic, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. PR3’s diverse team has transformed global industries before, from eliminating hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in refrigeration to creating global protocols for conflict-free mining.