On 26 June 2025, ALLFORPACK EMBALLAGE PARIS dedicated its 8th^webinar to promoting the reuse of packaging in France. This topic is more relevant than ever, given the regulatory, industrial and societal changes currently underway. Florence Duriez, Olivier Lefol and Fabrice Peltier, co-founders of GO! REEMPLOI, were invited to present the ReUse project initiated by Citeo and Adelphe. Their discussion helped to clarify the challenges and drivers of a transition to a large-scale circular packaging model.

Reuse: a regulatory turning point and strong consumer demand

The AGEC law and the European PPWR regulation set a clear course: a 20% reduction in single-use plastic packaging by the end of 2025, with a target of 10% reuse by 2027. However, the current figures are still far from the mark. At the same time, consumers are expressing a growing desire to consume ‘more responsibly’: 77% of them say they are willing to reuse… provided that it is simple, practical and integrated into their habits. With this in mind, Citeo has joined forces with several hundred stakeholders (brands, distributors, reuse operators, packaging manufacturers, federations, associations, etc.) around a single objective: to develop a national, shared reuse scheme for food packaging distributed in supermarkets.

GO! REEMPLOI: service provider for the ReUse project

To meet this challenge, Citeo has chosen GO! REEMPLOI, which brings together five companies with operational expertise in reuse and packaging distribution: Fabrice Peltier Création, Massilly Conserver, Bocoloco, Bout’ à Bout’ and Haut la Consigne. Its mission is to run France’s largest food packaging reuse trial: the ReUse initiative. Its objective is clearly defined: to test a large-scale, interoperable system that allows consumers to return their packaging to any participating point of sale, regardless of the brand. Launched in mid-June, this initiative covers four regions: Brittany, Normandy, Pays de la Loire and Hauts-de-France, with a total of 16 million potential consumers.

For more information: Reuse: a look back at the 2025 edition of ‘Bulk and Reuse Month’

A comprehensive scheme involving consumers

Today, the ReUse scheme covers 750 points of sale in the activation zone and involves various retailers, including Auchan, Carrefour, Leclerc, Coopérative U and Intermarché, – and several types of stores. As a service provider, GO! REEMPLOI performs the key tasks of the packaging reuse loop for all players (manufacturers, distributors, and sorting and washing operators):

• Managing the packaging stock with a service for each type of packaging.
• Organising all stages of the ReUse loop’s operational functioning: from collection to return to the marketers, including transport, sorting and washing of packaging.
• Designing a dedicated information system to monitor data throughout the reuse process and ensure the budgetary security of the loop.

In practical terms, packaging (mainly glass, but also plastic and stainless steel in the future) is delivered to retailers, collected in stores via automatic machines or manual equipment, then washed, sorted and returned to the circuit. The entire system is tracked by the digital platform, ensuring transparency and logistical monitoring. In order to cover the needs of a wide range of food products and requirements, up to 80 reusable packaging formats will be in circulation. These are currently divided into three main categories:

• R cœur standards, which can be shared between brands and products
• Iconic, specific to a brand
• RVR – Réseau Vrac et Réemploi (Bulk and Reuse Network), based on existing experiments

In reality, the consumer is central to this reuse loop, as it is by returning all their empty packaging to the collection machines that they will receive a voucher or a refund on their credit card.

GO! RÉEMPLOI’s approach is based on collective and collaborative action to ensure effective and sustainable reuse practices at the regional level, with a view to operating a viable model for the national roll-out of packaging reuse planned for 2027.

Packaging reuse: towards a structured national model by 2027

The current experiment aims to pave the way for a future national system designed to handle 2 billion pieces of packaging per year, 67% of which will be standard packaging, with 26 national washing centres, 7,000 collection machines and 18,000 collection points. Beyond all the technical and operational challenges to be overcome, GO! RÉEMPLOI wants to help get consumers on board with reuse so we can quickly reach a return rate of 85% for reusable packaging. GO!

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