Environmental Impact
Linear System
Today, most products and packaging in our economy are on a linear journey. They begin with the taking of raw materials and end in a landfill. This system seemed to work for many years, however, we now realize that it's no longer sustainable.
Circular System
For the bulk of human history, beginning in early pre-historic times, people have been reusing vessels, conveyance methods and other products (think woven baskets, animal skin pouches, plant-based containers, etc...) over and over again. They then were left to breakdown back into nature.
What is old, is new again. Enter the new circular economy and reuse in particular. Using our pioneering Reusable-as-a-Service, WeUse has developed a robust reusable lending platform, that incorporates products and packaging, and a complete service component to support their continued reuse.
vs.
Impact
Our goal is to duplicate the same functionality, ease-of-use and convenience found in single-use, and duplicate with reusable counterparts.
We wanted to make sure that this goal made sense in terms of economics, and more importantly with our planet.
WeUse has conducted an extensive research and analysis of single-use to multi-use product and service comparisons, taking into account every input and factor that we could think of, and find data about. Below is a list of the inputs that we have analyzed and quantified for both single-use and reusable products (where applicable):
-
Product materials
-
Transport of materials to factory
-
Manufacturing
-
Storage
-
Packaging of finished goods
-
Transport of finished good to port
-
Sea freight/air freight
-
Ground transport from destination port
-
Storage of bulk goods by wholesaler
-
Distribution of bulk goods by wholesaler
-
Use of products by retailer
-
Disposal of waste (single-use)
-
Return logistics (reusables)
-
Cleaning/sanitization (reusables)
-
Recirculation (reusables)
-
Recycling/upcycling reusables)
Single-use versus Reusables - Coffee Cup Case Study
Based on the current available data, this is what we found:
We as individuals, businesses, communities and countries are actively figuring out which carbon emissions pathways and courses of action we will ultimately take.
​
While far from perfect, and in need of continuous evaluation, we have found that reusable products and packaging circulated within the WeUse Reusable-as-a-Service platform significantly reduce trash, carbon emissions and primary resource usage, when compared to their single-use counterparts.