With 70kg of plastics waste generated every year by each French person – half of which is packaging, according to the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Carrefour is keen to promote reusable packaging with a deposit system.
Loop products are available in two Parisian Carrefour shops and will be available in 10 shops by the end of the year. Based on the lessons learned from this pilot project, the initiative will be rolled out more widely in 2021.
A range of everyday products such as Coca-Cola, Nivea, Nutella, and Evian will be sold in durable, refillable packaging. Once the products have been consumed, the customer can return their empty packaging to the shop and get their deposit refunded via a mobile application, via a dedicated collection area, or directly at the checkout.
Once the consumer returns the containers, Loop ensures their collection, sorting and cleaning. The clean packaging is returned to the brands’ to be refilled and then be reused by the next consumer, with each container being reused multiple times.
Minister for ecological transition Barbara Pompili, who visited one of the first Loop par Carrefour stores in Paris this week, said: “The fight against overwrapping must be embodied in everyday life locations. It is essential that large retailers like Carrefour adopt circular economy solutions. This is what will enable us to change at scale. The initiative to reuse packaging via the Loop solution is a step in the right direction.
“Tomorrow, everyone should be able to consume their everyday products in reusable containers. This is how we will meet the objectives of the anti-waste law for a circular economy.”
Carrefour’s chief executive Alexandra Bompard, said: “After our digital experimentation, we are now launching an ambitious phase of the Loop project, which will be rolled out in local shops, and we hope to be able to accelerate its development throughout 2021.”
