LYRECO PARTNERS WITH SUSTAINABLE COMPANY LOOP IN FIRST BUSINESS TO BUSINESS TRIAL

Lyreco UK is the first business to partner with global reuse platform Loop®, in a Business to Business proof of concept trial: with a circular consumer model, minimal waste and reusable packaging in mind.

Global office supplies and workplace solutions company, Lyreco, has partnered with Loop as the first business to business organisation to offer a sustainable, circular shopping cycle.

In this proof of concept trial, Hand Soap and Hand Sanitisers will be sold in bespoke reusable packaging, in an aim to reduce packaging waste across the supply chain. The service will be trialled across a select group of businesses including Murphy, and Legal & General.

How does the trial work?

During this trial, customers will place an order through Lyreco’s easy-to-use webshop. The product will be delivered, along with a re-usable tote bag, in which the empty containers will go back in after use. The products will be used until empty but then instead of throwing the empty packaging away – the customer will let Lyreco know the products are ready to be taken away, cleaned, refilled and reused – eliminating the culture of single-use items.

‘Loop’ is a global reuse platform run by the recycling company TerraCycle, who are successfully transforming the packaging of everyday items across major brands worldwide. With hopes to expand their reach dramatically over the coming years, Loop are equally as enthusiastic as Lyreco when it comes to this new business to business trial:

“Rethinking packaging provides the opportunity to develop new packaging designs that not only look good and are functional but also sustainable at the same time,” said Blandine Surry, General Manager for Loop Europe. “We are thrilled to see the Loop model expanding into business to business with a convenient model that enables to broaden the impact of Loop on reducing waste.”

 

Challenging Traditional Shopping Habits

Most consumer models are linear: as a customer you buy a product, use it until it’s empty, and then throw it away or recycle it. However, of the 26 million tonnes of waste produced in the UK, only 12 million tonnes are recycled – and a whopping 14 million tonnes are still sent to landfill. As a country, we recycle just 45% of plastics in the UK, which means that 55% of all our plastic waste ends up in landfills, or indeed, the ocean. As our awareness of the impact on the environment increases, it’s important to take every opportunity you can to make the right decisions when it comes to sustainability. Lyreco are passionate about doing their part to combat these linear shopping habits, with a more sustainable alternative.

In line with their 2025 Circular Economy Pledge, Lyreco are moving towards operating even more sustainable; providing end of life collection and recovery on a range of products, phasing out single use plastics in their offices and removing all non-circular packaging from the products that they sell. Of course, the bottles used in the trial with Loop, are no exception. Made of a heavy-duty, stainless-steel, the bottles will be used, professionally cleaned, refilled and reused up to 100 times.

Lyreco has always put sustainability at the heart of everything they do, cutting their CO2 emissions by 57% since 2010, and continuing to offer a one-stop shop for businesses across the globe – Lyreco’s partnership with Loop is an exciting next step towards a greener future for all of their customers.

Managing Director Michael Milward says: “Lyreco have always placed sustainability as a business priority, so partnering with Loop for this proof of concept trial is a natural step in the right direction to create a more sustainable, circular shopping cycle for our customers. We look forward to seeing the results of the trial, and how this brings us closer to our 2025 Circular Economy pledge goal, to offer end-of-life collection and recover material assets back across our products and categories in the future.”

What’s next?

Once the trial has finished, Lyreco will analyse the results, learn from the process and further develop sustainable solutions for their customers.

To learn more and to register your interest, head on over to www.wearelyreco.com/loop for more information.

*Source: The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affiars (DEFRA) Report dated March 2020.

Recycling Facts (recyclingbins.co.uk)