ReuSe Vanguard Project (RSVP)

Recycling has benefitted from too much attention and the solution to the (plastic) pollution crisis lies now mostly in prevention and reuse. However industry, media and policy making still put their focus on waste collection and recycling. The RSVP project aims to put reusable systems in the center of the solutions agenda and create the conditions for scaling up these systems across Europe.” – Nathan Dufour, Reuse Systems Manager and Leader of the ReuSe Vanguard Project at Zero Waste Europe

About RSVP

Currently, most packaging is single-use, and disposability is deeply rooted in our linear economy. Scientific evidence and the waste hierarchy prove that reuse is preferable to recycling and any kind of disposal. However, as of today, consumer systems are wired to favour disposability despite the evidence that, even if we managed to collect all the waste and recycle it, it would still be widely unsustainable.

We believe that transition from disposability to reuse has to happen for most of today’s current single-use applications and we aim to change the whole packaging landscape in the long run. However, this transition will take time and the Reuse Vanguard Project intends to get us moving in the right direction. This project seeks to create the conditions for big-scale change to reusables to happen in the near future and apply surgical interventions in targeted market segments to get the shift started.

Learn more about RSVP on our presentation.


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Project partners

Project partners

  • Deutsche Umwelthilfe
  • Enviu
  • Recycling Netwerk Benelux (RNB)
  • Reseau Vrac et Reemploi
  • Rezero
  • Zero Waste Europe

Collaborating organisations

  • ECOS - European Coalition on Standards
  • GDB - Genossenschaft Deutscher Brunnen eG
  • Mehrweg Verband
  • Mission Zero Academy (MiZA)
  • NewERA - EU Reuse Alliance
  • Perpetual
  • PR3 - Partnership to Reuse, Refill, Replace Single-Use Plastics
  • ReFrastructure
  • RELOOP
  • #WeChooseReuse

Get in touch

  • Nathan Dufour
    Reuse Systems Manager at Zero Waste Europe and Leader of the ReuSe Vanguard Project (RSVP)
  • Ana Oliveira
    Head of Communications at Zero Waste Europe

#GetBack campaign

Funded by

Zero Waste Europe gratefully acknowledges financial assistance from the Plastic Solutions Fund. The sole responsibility for the content of this project lies with the authoring organisations. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the funder mentioned above. The funder cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.