Redefining the reuse economy without apps

This startup is integrating with payment providers to make reuse and deposit schemes seamless

Spotted: As recycling rates for key materials like plastic remain stubbornly low, interest in reuse systems for everything from coffee cups to e-commerce packaging is growing. But making these systems work in practice is much easier said than done. And according to Ali Hood, founder and CEO of Recirculate Systems, the main barriers to adoption are price and friction.

Speaking to Springwise, Hood, who previously ran a small chain of coffee shops, explained that today’s reuse systems are more expensive than single-use and rely on standalone apps, which slow down the sales process and require the transfer of huge amounts of personal data. This reuse friction, which gets in the way of other cheaper sales, puts off business owners, while only the most environmentally motivated customers are likely to put up with the added hassle.

Now, however, the UK startup is hoping to unlock reuse with its software that taps into the world’s payment networks. Whenever customers buy anything via card or other forms of digital payment, they provide a small amount of data to payment providers. By combining this data with its software, Recirculate Systems can digitally ‘attach’ an object – such as a reusable coffee cup – to a transaction, facilitating app-free deposits and returns.

From the business’s point of view, adding a deposit for a reusable product is as seamless as pressing a button on the point-of-sale device, while the customer needs to do nothing more than tap their card as normal. When a customer wishes to return their product, they can go to any participating store or collection point with Recirculate’s software, receiving the deposit back to the card they paid for it with.

The company is currently racing to integrate its bolt-on software with all the major payment providers, which it typically does through publicly available APIs. It then intends to sell its software to existing reuse networks, such as Recup or ReCircle. These typically have their own scanners and hardware to physically scan items, which Recirculate can code for. However, the startup has also developed an off-the-shelf hardware device to bring its software to smaller community schemes for whom a commercial hardware solution would not be feasible.

Hood explains that the technology could replace “anything that is single use,” whether that be food packaging, plant pots, or the reams of e-commerce packaging that arrives at your door. “The scale is as big as the problem we face. In fact, it’s exactly proportional to it,” he explains.

Written By: Matthew Hempstead