PR3 is creating the toolkit and blueprint for a future where reuse is affordable, convenient, and scalable. Buy a coffee, soda or other packaged good. After consuming the product, place the used container in the reuse bin in your office, home or on the street. The container gets picked up, washed, and redistributed to be refilled and sold again. PR3 is laying the foundation for this future by establishing global standards for reuse. Standardization will enable the reuse industry to turn small, proprietary programs into full-scale, public-private systems while lowering costs, providing quality assurance, and making it easier to align investments in infrastructure. Version one of PR3 standards are being formalized through ANSI and ISO processes, and being ground-truthed in demonstration projects in Seattle and Jakarta, with more cities coming onboard soon. PR3 is seeking additional partners to review and evolve the standards and install them in reuse systems worldwide.

Goals and Impact:

Reuse is a critical part of solving both the plastic and climate crises. Plastic is responsible for 1.8 billion tonnes of GHG emissions each year, and 42% of all plastic produced is used for packaging. Shifting to reusable packaging can eliminate 90% of consumer goods packaging and up to 80% of the associated GHG emissions. Near-term, PR3 is working to embed a core set of essential standards into local, national, and international policies and emerging reuse programs around the world. Long-term, PR3's goal is to enable a systemic transition to reuse as the predominant packaging paradigm for consumer goods - viable for and preferred by consumers, governments, small businesses, and multinational corporations - rather than an expensive, niche experience.