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Spotted: Every European generates an average of 180 kilogrammes of packaging waste each year, something the European Commission is tackling as part of its European Green Deal. The Commission’s goal is for the packaging sector to become carbon neutral by 2050, and for all packaging to be recyclable by 2030. Promoting reusable and refillable packaging solutions to businesses and consumers is a crucial part of that work, and the Commission expects small companies to be important contributors in the transition. 

Netherlands-based Ozarka is already one of those leaders. Created by Beth Wassa, the company provides food industry businesses with alternative packaging options. Ozarka provides a full reusable packaging service or just the containers, and it also supplies the packaging for the DeliverZero food delivery system.  

Ozarka’s food containers are made from food-grade silicon that is sturdy enough to be used 1,000 times, safe to be washed in commercial dishwashers, free from toxic chemicals, and made in Europe. Designed to be an immediate replacement for single-use plastics and coated paper packaging, the Ozarka options are stackable and most importantly, leak-proof. 

The reusables as a service (RaaS) process allows customers to drop off used containers or have them picked up by Ozarka, whose team then tracks each piece for participating companies, before washing and sanitising the containers for reuse. Having recently raised €500,000 in a seed funding round, Ozarka plans to expand its area of operations for both the DeliverZero app and the reusables-as-a-service system. 

Innovation in packaging is producing myriad new options for companies to choose from, and Springwise has recently spotted a paper-based alternative to bubble wrap and an onion-skin alternative to plastic.

Written By: Keely Khoury