“My main concern without a doubt would be food packaging” said Philip Geurts, a chemicals and oil analyst, during the Bloomberg economics podcast Odd Lots on March 25, 2026. With the current strife between the United States and Iran interfering with shipping petroleum through the Strait of Hormuz, experts expect that petrochemical plants producing polyethylene (PE) and other polymers used in packaging will soon be affected if they haven’t already.
Guerts continues, “I am not aware of any fungible products for polyethylene to be used at the same scale for food packaging as, well, polyethylene. So, I do not know whether there is a viable alternative.”
While there may not be a direct one-to-one substitute available for PE in packaging, there are alternatives available to the single-use plastic packaging applications many economies have become reliant on.
These alternatives may not lessen the immediate effects from current interruptions to global petroleum trade but scaling them up now could prevent and lessen future shocks. One alternative with ample evidence for its effectiveness is the expansion of localized reuse systems.
Established reuse systems show they can work
Around the world reusable, recyclable, or biodegradable packaging was once the norm because there were no alternatives (FPF reported). The global demand for packaging, and thus the petroleum used to make it, has skyrocketed over the course of the last century (FPF reported, also here), but shocks to global trade such as a war or pandemic can highlight the utility of maintaining strong local packaging systems (FPF reported, also here).
Within the German “pfand” system of reusable glass bottles, drinks producers in Germany jointly manage a reuse system that has a nearly universal acceptance rate among the German public — 99.4% of reusable bottles are returned in Germany (FPF reported).
Another example of robust local reuse systems is in southern India, where lunch is delivered across cities to tens of millions of people each day in reusable steel containers (tiffins). In Japan and Korea, lunches are served on reusable trays (bento/magewappa, dosirak) in many schools or traditional eateries. In the US, local breweries sell beer in large jugs (growlers) that customers bring in and take home. And in Southeast Asia and parts of Africa, food may be served on or sold in large leaves (FPF reported).
In the Philippines there are 1.3 million neighborhood stores which, according to Jorge Emmanuel, professor at Silliman University, “once had an active reuse system.” However, “multinationals completely destroyed a sustainable practice” and the now ubiquitous sachets have “caused lots of problems.” Every day, 164 million sachets are sold in the Philippines alone (FPF reported). Despite the difficulties, reuse is returning in big and small ways around the world.
Reuse in retail is progressing
In the US, the Reuse in Retail Initiative (RRI) is working to accelerate the transition to reusable packaging for retail in states where Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes are being implemented. The scoping phase report, published in March 2026, summarizes discussions with nine companies and organizations about challenges and steps to implement reuse. The project will start small, in Portland, Maine, focusing on prepared foods and using a return-on-the-go model. In this type of system, users return packaging items at designated stores or drop-off locations.
“[F]uture expansions to other packaging EPR states, such as California” may come at a later date, along with “potential expansion to other product categories in Phase 2 (fresh produce, home care, and/or personal care).”
In Europe, the recent Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) has multiple targets for expanding reuse that will come into effect over the coming years. These include 10% reusable beverage containers by 2030, increasing to 40% by 2040, with various exceptions for wines, spirits, and milk. Takeaway operators will be obligated to accommodate reusable containers brought by customers at no additional charge and will need to offer “10% of products for sale in a reusable packaging format.” Concerning refill, distributors with a retail area exceeding 400 m² will be required to allocate at least 10% of their space to refill stations by 2030 (FPF reported). Some countries, including Spain and Belgium are already taking steps towards these goals (FPF reported here and here).
According to Pew Chartiable Trusts, in a “system transformation” scenario, “ambitious, complementary actions using existing solutions [including elements outlined by RRI and the PPWR] across the plastic system to cut production and use and improve waste management, … could reduce annual plastic pollution by 83% by 2040” (FPF reported).
Identifying and limiting unnecessary plastic packaging
In addition to incorporating more reusable packaging containers, another way to avoid the problems that can come with a petrochemicals market shock is to limit the use of unnecessary plastics. The US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) published on March 31, 2026, a survey of plastic use in the produce section of many grocery store chains in the United States.
Each fruit or vegetable type along with the store was scored by the “plastic intensity” of the products – a standardized measurement based on a typical amount of plastic used to package a volume of fresh produce. PIRG looked at ten categories of fresh fruits and vegetables: basil, broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, lemons, portobello mushrooms, romaine lettuce, spinach, strawberries, and sweet potatoes.
According to PIRG, plastic intensity scores ranged from a high of 35.9 averaged across several Whole Foods (Kroger was right behind at 35.8) to a low of 20.4 at Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco. The lowest score for a nationally recognizable chain was Trader Joe’s at 25.2. The “Theoretical Low Plastic Store” received a score of 8.1. The score for the Theoretical Store came from “the lowest plastic score for each category that [PIRG] found among all the real stores surveyed.” This demonstrates that should one company match the combined best practices for each produce category, significant reductions in plastic packaging in the produce section could be made.
Building reuse systems
On April 8, 2026, Perpetual and the World Wildlife Fund collaboratively published “The Refill & Reuse Systems Handbook”. The handbook brings together global expertise and local insights to support the transition to circular packaging systems. It includes a five-part primer covering key principles, system design, operational models, stakeholder ecosystems, and enabling conditions such as policy and infrastructure. Paired with a step-by-step guide, it offers a framework to help organizations move from initial exploration to implementing refill and reuse solutions at scale.
References
Bloomberg Podcasts (March 25, 2026) “Odd Lots: The Petrochemicals Shock That’s Already Rippling Through Plastics.” YouTube
Annika Furr (March 2026). “Reuse in Retail scoping phase report.” US Plastics Pact
Jonathan Kaplan and Celeste Meiffren-Swango (March 31, 2026). “Plastic in the Produce Aisle: A survey of plastic packaging on fresh produce in U.S. grocery stores.” US PIRG (PDF).
Perpetual and World Wildlife Fund (April 8, 2026). “Reuse and refill systems handbook.” Plastic Reboot.
