Reusable food packaging systems in the Baltic Sea Region: cases from Change(K)now!

How can schools, hospitals, festivals and takeaway restaurants move away from single-use packaging? The new Change(K)now! case series, compiled by the project partner Gate 21, now available online, looks for answers in practice, bringing together examples from across the Baltic Sea Region where municipalities and food service operators have put reuse to the test, from public catering and large events to city-wide systems.

All the cases come from pilots carried out by Change(K)now! partners in the Baltic Sea Region over the past three years. Whether they involve deposit schemes, circular procurement or new return logistics, each case shares lessons learned and looks at what it takes to scale up. Together, they offer a useful starting point for anyone working towards more sustainable food systems, from local authorities to caterers and event organisers.

The cases are grouped into four publications:

• Strategy and policy: municipal roadmaps, procurement strategies and local reuse regulations that integrate reusable packaging into waste and urban policy.
• Institutional catering: operational lessons from schools, hospitals, ministry buildings and municipal kitchens using reusable food packaging in daily operations.
• Events: reusable cups, deposit schemes and return infrastructure tested at festivals, running events, fan zones and city celebrations.
• Takeaway and home delivery: pilots with reusable containers, deposit systems, RFID tracking, reverse vending machines and bring-your-own solutions.

An interactive map shows where the cases are located, so readers can browse examples by city.

The case series is part of a wider set of Change(K)now! resources. These include the Sprint Manual, a step-by-step guide with printable exercise cards for organisations moving to reuse, and the Policy Recommendations From Pilots to Systems, which set out what policymakers can do to make reuse the norm. The cases also feed into the project’s Training Programme, designed to help trainers support municipalities, caterers and event organisers through the transition.

👉 Explore the cases and download the publications:

• Strategic and policy cases 
• Case studies: Institutional catering
• Case studies: Events
• Case studies: Takeaway and home delivery cases

👉 Interactive map: Circular food delivery systems – BSR cases

The results will also be presented at the Change(K)now!’s final conference in October.

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