Reusable packaging revitalizes the start-up scene – Recup snaps up Ikea as a customer

Berlin Sushi, salad bar, burger or Thai: In Germany, 4.5 billion meal boxes, 5.8 billion beverage cups and 2.7 billion disposable plates are used every year, which according to German environmental aid produce more than 190,000 tons of waste. In addition, there is the enormous consumption of paper, plastic and aluminum.

The federal government is now putting a stop to this. From January, all larger catering establishments must offer reusable alternatives for meals and drinks “to go” in addition to disposable plastic packaging and disposable beverage cups.

Start-ups such as Recup, Vytal and Relevo are currently leading the market with their reusable products that have been established over the past few years. It is still unclear whether the large supermarket chains such as Rewe and Edeka will also be using their own systems or those of the start-ups for their salad bars on a large scale.