Colin visits Denmark to see on-the-go reuse in action
By Colin O'Byrne
In early March, Zero Waste Europe invited Colin and 69 other experts to the Danish cities of Copenhagen and Aarhus for a two-day study of reusable packaging on-the-go.
Background
The EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Directive (PPWR), with its general provisions entering into force as national legislation on 12 August 2026, is expecting cities and businesses across Europe to move towards packaging reuse. That’s all well and good, but how are we going to do this when we do not have any working systems in place – has putting the cart before the horse ever really worked?
The problem is the proliferation of single-use packaging, at home and on the streets. So, would an outright ban on disposable packaging work? No, it won’t. Not without a functioning, easy-to-use, re-use system in place. Lisbon looked to put the cart before the horse by banning single-use plastic cups. The trouble was, there was no re-use infrastructure or return incentives (like a levy) in place to accommodate this change;, the result was an increase in litter and waste in the city, not less.
Ban-oriented legislation, without first having working systems in place, is inviting failure, which is why we need to find a reuse system that works for Ireland. But not only that, we need to make sure that single-use packaging is not the default option for retailers.
As things stand, single-use packaging gives the appearance of being the cheaper option but looks can be deceiving. The truth is that single-use packaging at the point of sale is only a fraction of the true cost; the rest follows it quietly through the system, from bin to collection and onto incinerator, to say nothing of the litter and overflowing bins. In other words, without legislation to level up the playing field disincentivise so that the cost of single-use cups reflect the entirety of their economic impact and not just , it won’t make economic sense for businesses and customers to pivot to re-usable options, and conditions will not be there for reuse systems to compete viably.
Foundations must be laid to prepare Irish people and retailers for reuse. So, with that in mind, we sent Colin to find out what the Danish are doing to put their horse before the cart …
Day 1 - Copenhagen
With 34 return points across the city center, Copenhagen’s reuse system has been in operation since October 2025. Operated by a company called New Loop, they have placed solar-powered return vending machines around popular parts of the city to make the system easy to use. No apps. No cash. Just a credit/debit card and your phone. Easy.
The reuse system itself is made to be self-sufficient and market-driven. Yet, to support scaling, the project received 100,000-300,000 DKK in financial support from the city. This helps businesses to cover implementation costs and a smaller indoor return machine, with funding increasing based on how many single-use packaging items the participating units or chains use. Like Ireland there is no supportive legislation that would either makes reuse mandatory for take-away or bring in a levy on disposable packaging. It is the hope of the systems operators in Copenhagen that this happens soon.
Day 2 - Aarhus
On day two, I was taken around the second largest city in Denmark, called Aahaus. Here they have a different reuse system in place for the last two years. Run by systems operator TOMRA, they provide the tech and machinery which have so far avoided 20 plus tonnes of waste and achieved a return rate of 88%.
Unlike the Copenhagen example, Aarhus’s system includes providing reuse packaging for festivals and events (their Event Solution). This increases their impact massively, with a recorded 150,000 containers rotations with a 94% return rate. Wow.
Evidence was presented to us that over 50 businesses participate in the system today, and that less than 1% of the reusable cups end up in city waste bins.
A lot of what we learned in Aarhaus was not new to us, most notably:
Pricing: Reusable packaging must cost the same as single-use options in local markets. Currently, the true cost of single use cups and packaging is not factored into its price (water, resource use, litter, waste management). We need policies that account for this so that businesses, retailers, cafes and catering businesses do not get penalized financially for making the switch to reuse (even if it means subsidising in the short term).
Upselling: This is an issue that we saw first-hand in our Fingal Reusable Cup Project. Staff need to proactively offer reusables instead of single use. Otherwise, customers (and staff) will default to the disposable packaging.
