Reusably: swapping single-use takeaway containers for a returnable system
Prepared by Rawtec for Green Industries SA, as part of a series of case studies on changing procurement practices.
Summary published
Reusably is an Adelaide start-up founded in 2019. It replaces single-use takeaway packaging with food-grade stainless steel containers that customers return to any participating venue instead of binning.
The service was first piloted on Kangaroo Island in March 2022. By August 2023 it had kept nearly 600 single-use containers out of the system.
It launched into a state that was already moving: South Australia began phasing out single-use plastic beverage and takeaway containers in 2024.
founded in Adelaide
first pilot, on Kangaroo Island
single-use containers avoided to August 2023
to return a container
How it works
For the customer
Subscribe through the app for $3.99 a month, or $43 a year. Order as normal at a partner venue and the food comes in a Reusably container. Rinse it, return it to any participating venue, and the cleaning is done for you. You can hold two cups and two bowls at a time and have 21 days to bring them back.
For the venue
No upfront cost. Venues are invoiced quarterly at a fixed service fee of 15 cents per takeaway, less a cleaning credit of 5 cents for every container returned. The case study reports the net effect as roughly cost-neutral against single-use packaging.
What the venue gets besides the containers
The tracking software that runs the container fleet also gives venues stock visibility and impact reporting. Reusably has since extended the same tracking to other reusable products.
The full document is available as a PDF.
Changing how your organisation buys?
This is one of a series of case studies we prepared for Green Industries SA on practical changes to procurement. If you are weighing up a reusable system, we are happy to talk it through.