Zero Impack

Zero Impack provides an innovative solution to replace single-use packaging employed in the food delivery and take-away industry, by developing a system for the distribution, collection, washing and return of reusable containers.

We offer our clients (which are different players that perform food delivery: from restaurants to meal-kit platforms, to large scale distribution), a packaging-as-a-service formula that includes the supply of Zero Impack reusable containers; the collection of empty, dirty containers; the washing and the sanitization of containers and, to close the loop, the return of clean, ready-to-reuse containers to the client.

Our system circularity is guaranteed by our App, that, thanks to a QR codes technology, allows the scanning of QR codes placed on every container thereby monitoring and tracking them during the whole process.

About the containers

Right now, our containers have two different forms (rectangular and circular) and three different dimensions (small, medium, large) to adapt to different kinds of kitchens and meals. They are made of stainless steel 304 with leak-proof silicone lids.

We currently import them from abroad, however we plan to design and produce our own line of containers in Italy, to improve quality and aesthetics and further lower the environmental impact when considering the whole Life Cycle Assessment of our service. Our future containers will be made of polypropylene, a thermoplastic polymer which is Bisphenol-A (BPA) free and FDA-approved for food contact. The containers are stackable and will be tested in laboratory for reusability. The design foresees washing in a hygienic manner and can be heated to 100°C so that no viruses survive.

Zero Impack containers can be used 250 to 300 times and a LCA shows that, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, our reusable containers are better than single-use options made of coated cardboard, polyactic acid (PLA), expanded polysterene (EPS) or sugar cane if reused between 5-7 times and better than single-use low density polyethylene (LDPE) boxes if reused just 1 time. A high quality of reusable products is essential because a cheap version that is reused only a few times is not environmentally beneficial compared to single-use options. At the end of life (after 300 washing), our containers will be withdrawn from the market, mechanically recycled, and transformed into new containers of the same quality.

A scalable and replicable solution

Zero Impack is a fully scalable and replicable solution. Our model can be exported and adapted to different contexts mainly because:
1. The service is potentially suitable for every player that performs food delivery and can be applied to high and small volumes;
2. We establish local partnership to centralize our activities, ensure a low environmental impact, minimize organizational risks, simplify logistics, and guarantee the circularity of our system;
Zero Impack’s mission is very much in line with EU measures towards circularity – from the Roadmap for a Resource-Efficient Europe to the Circular Economy Action Plan, to the European Green Deal – which aim at promoting the transition to a carbon-neutral, resource efficient, and competitive economy.