The Bern-based company reCIRCLE AG, in collaboration with 89 Solutions, has designed a clip for the lids of its reusable containers. The clip repurposes the magnetic anti-theft systems used in clothing stores for use with the reusable packaging system. According to a statement from founder and CEO Jeannette Morath, the development was part of the EU research project “Strategies to Prevent and Reduce Plastic Packaging Pollution from the Food System” (STOPP).
The clip was 3D-printed and uses an existing magnetic pin. The system allows customers to bring their own reCIRCLE boxes when shopping and pay only for the contents. Customers who need a new container receive one with a lid secured by the magnetic pin. At the cash register, the pin is removed and the box is paid for. According to the statement, this eliminates the need for scanning, an app, or an additional lid dispenser.
Morath describes the solution as an example of how existing technologies can be combined for new applications. “Perhaps that’s exactly what innovation is sometimes: not inventing something new, but combining familiar elements in such a way that something suddenly just works,” she said.
STOPP is funded under Horizon Europe and will run from 2024 through the end of 2026. ReCIRCLE is one of the project partners and contributes its reusable system to the international initiative. ce/as