Unilever advances plastic waste reduction with innovative refill solutions in Asia

ASIA – Unilever has reinforced its dedication to reducing plastic waste by testing innovative refill solutions in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.

The initiative aims to provide consumers with affordable, customizable product quantities while reducing virgin plastic use and tackling plastic sachet waste.

The company aims to have 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable packaging for rigid plastics by 2030 and for flexible plastic by 2035.

Unilever emphasised, “We know we can’t scale alternative reusable packaging models alone.” 

“It requires commitment across every level of the supply chain, from manufacturers and retailers to the waste management industry and governments.”

Since 2018, Unilever has launched over 50 refills and reuse pilot projects. 

The insights from these efforts have shaped its long-term strategies to minimize single-use plastic packaging.

In Sri Lanka, Unilever partnered with Vega Innovations in 2019 to introduce high-tech supermarket refill stations.

These machines dispense household and personal care products, including Dove, Sunsilk, and Sunlight, at up to 20% lower costs than prepackaged versions. 

Unilever expanded the program to general trade, installing machines in railway stations, apartment buildings, and local stores to make refills more accessible for lower-income consumers.

Similarly, in Bangladesh, self-service refill machines were trialled in 2021 in modern trade outlets. 

However, maintenance challenges led the company to collaborate with Bopinc, a TRANSFORM-funded organisation, to design compact, user-friendly dispensers that fit on store counters.

These machines dispense varying amounts of Dove, Sunsilk, Sunlight, and Lifebuoy and provide real-time sales data to help tailor future product offerings.

In Indonesia, Unilever launched digital refill machines in Jakarta’s apartment buildings and kiosks in 2020.

Additionally, Unilever experimented with motorcycle drivers delivering refills via jerrycans.

This method gained popularity but faced scalability challenges due to high costs. 

To further expand access, Unilever collaborated with Alner and local partners to equip family-owned stalls and waste banks with manual refill stations.

 In 2023, this initiative served 6,000 consumers through 1,000 stations, preventing six tonnes of plastic waste.

Unilever stresses the importance of collaboration across the supply chain and calls for regulatory support to scale the reusable packaging model effectively.

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