Eunomia published a feasibility study in partnership with Story of Stuff that considers how a Californian reusable beverage system could be integrated into the state’s existing single-use deposit return system or Beverage Container Recycling Program (BCRP).
California is a leader within the US in regulating plastic production, usage, and disposal. The state’s Senate Bill 54 requires a 25% reduction in non-beverage plastic packaging production by 2032, while the BCRP has fostered a culture of container returns and provides essential infrastructure for a transition to reusable systems.
However, single-use containers remain dominant in the market and approximately 28 billion beverage containers are consumed each year across the state, with over 6.1 billion beverage containers sent to landfill.
This research compares the environmental performance of the current single-use beverage sector to one including beverages (currently covered by the BCRP) sold in reusable containers. The report explores a “return-on-the-go” model that allows consumers to buy beverages in reusable containers as they would single-use ones and return them to redemption points before being sorted, washed, sanitized, and refilled. Hospitality venues can also participate by returning containers when receiving new ones.
Our sustainable packaging system simulator, ReSim, was used to determine the infrastructure needs across the sector to support a reusable beverage container target. Several system factors were considered for the model, including:
- A 25% reuse market share
- A 75% Redemption rate
- Standardized container designs
- Energy system assumptions of no future decarbonization of electricity, heat, or transport
- A mix of reverse logistics (for hospitality sector returns) and dedicated logistics (for retail returns)
The findings demonstrate that building on California’s existing deposit return system infrastructure is a cost-effective and logical approach to achieving environmental, social, and economic benefits, such as:
- 2.9 billion fewer plastic bottles produced each year
- 32 million fewer containers littered
- An 8% reduction in the beverage industry’s annual packaging-related GHG emissions
- 11,800 new green jobs
- $75 million annual waste management cost savings
- 1.1 billion gallons of water saved
By integrating reuse into its deposit system, California can lead by example in addressing plastic pollution and help catalyze the transition towards a truly circular economy.
