REUSABLE SYSTEMS FOR
FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

Protecting resources through reusability

    ESTIMATED TONNES OF CO2 SAVINGS THROUGH RETURNABLE TRANSPORT PACKAGING

    PRESERVING RESOURCES

    Reusable pool systems for fruit and vegetables

    Fresh fruit and vegetables have become an indispensable part of European supermarkets and retail stores. Their year-round provision requires a complex logistics system. Plastic crates, cardboard packaging and wooden boxes are mainly used as transport packaging for fruit and vegetables. Plastic crates are used as reusable packaging, cardboard packaging is the most commonly used disposable solution.

     

    Reusable crates for transporting fruit and vegetables are particularly stable: A study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) came to the conclusion that the packaging breakage of cardboard boxes (4.2%) is 35 times higher than that of reusable crates (0.12%). The use of reusable crates protects food from damage during transport. The multiple use of reusable crates also saves raw materials and prevents environmental damage.

    The figures on how much food in Germany ends up unused in waste fluctuate between 20 million tonnes per year (Source: Film Taste the Waste) and 300,000 tonnes (source: European Retail Institute). It is undisputed that these losses must be reduced urgently. To address the problem, however, reliable data on the situation is required.

     

    Get a brief overview of the study's key facts with our infographic video

    ACT NOW – SAVE FOOD AND STOP WASTE!

    The main objective of the study was to quantify the greenhouse gas emissions of the reusable, collapsible plastic containers and the disposable cardboard containers and to subsequently compare them. To achieve the main objective, processes along the entire value chain of both packaging systems were considered, based on their actual transport performance in Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and France.

     

    The study “Sustainability of packaging systems for fruit and vegetable transport in Europe – based on a life cycle analysis” was commissioned by the Stiftung Initiative Mehrweg (SIM) in 2009 and carried out by the Institut für ganzheitliche Bilanzierung, which is affiliated to the Fraunhofer Institut für Bauphysik and the University of Stuttgart.

    The study came to the conclusion that the plastic-based reusable system is ecologically superior to the disposable carton system. Moreover, the reusable system proves to be the most economical.

    CARBON FOOTPRINT CALCULATOR 2020

    Sustainability of packaging systems for fruit and vegetable transport in Europe based on a life cycle analysis.

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