Ottawa launches reusable packaging project with Walmart, Unilever & P&G

The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Plastic Waste Coalition, in collaboration with Reposit, Amcor, and Avery Dennison, has announced a reusable packaging project for home and personal care items in Ottawa, Canada.

The city-wide initiative is expected to launch in Q3 of this year, and will enable consumers to buy, return, and reuse everyday products across multiple retailers. 

In the Reuse City Canada Project, consumers can purchase reusable packaging products with a deposit. Once a product is used, the empty pack can be returned to collection points, after which it is cleaned and placed back into circulation. 

Cédric Dever, director at CGF’s Plastic Waste Coalition, says: “Changing our collective relationship with plastic requires collaboration and creative new approaches, and Ottawa is an exciting breakthrough in collective action.”

“This project shows how retailers, manufacturers, and system enablers can align efforts to deliver reuse at the city scale. Through these kinds of partnerships, we can create credible evidence of what works and provide a scalable blueprint for other markets worldwide.”

Participating retailers include L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Walmart Canada, while the initiative’s circular economy partners include Circulr and IBM. 

Maintaining a reuse system 

Reposit, a UK-based reuse-system operator, is responsible for the system design and day-to-day operations, ensuring a “consistent and reliable experience across stores.”

Stuart Chidley, founder and CEO at Reposit, says: “Transitioning from single-use to reuse requires more than good intentions — it demands collective action and systemic change across the entire value chain.”

“The Reuse City Canada Project represents a large-scale collaboration among global manufacturers, retailers, and solution providers, working together to design the infrastructure and incentives that make reuse accessible to everyone.” 

“This is an important step toward building a circular system that works at scale — one where packaging keeps its value, resources stay in use, and waste becomes a thing of the past.”

Investing in reuse 

The initiative includes return points, reverse logistics, professional washing infrastructure, and integrated data systems, as well as standardized return messaging in English and French. It is partly funded by the Government of Canada, the Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund, and the Canada Plastics Pact.

Julie Dabrusin, Minister of the Environment, Climate Change, and Nature, says: “Focusing on durable, reusable packaging can drastically cut plastic waste, pollution, and material use.” 

“Today’s announcement is a great example of governments, businesses, non-profit organizations, and communities working together to create new economic opportunities and sustainable choices for Canadians that keep the value of our resources in the economy and out of landfills and the environment.”

Reusable packaging is observing an uptick as brands and packaging manufacturers invest in the reuse and refill systems. 

Last year, a refill and reuse trial report revealed that Ocado Retail’s returnable vessels had an 86% return rate while Aldi’s refill products accounted for a 30% sales rate compared to single-use packaging options.

More recently, the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency launched two public consultations on the reuse and repackaging of cosmetics, perfumes, and other personal care products. Duni Group began its ReMuc “Ois im Kreis” (everything in the circle) project, a reusable food container system, in Munich, Germany.