{"id":59532,"date":"2026-07-17T13:29:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T11:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.empack.be\/learning-to-think-differently-with-reuselab-at-empack\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T13:34:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T11:34:47","slug":"learning-to-think-differently-with-reuselab-at-empack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.empack.be\/en\/learning-to-think-differently-with-reuselab-at-empack\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning to think differently with REuseLab at Empack"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Looking for practical tips and advice on reusing a product or its packaging? REuseLab is here to help everyone.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

REuseLab\u2019s first appearance at Empack will feature a talk and a workshop offering practical guidance on the reuse of packaging. REuseLab, an impact lab at the University of Antwerp, is investigating what is needed to make reuse work in practice. At Empack, REuseLab aims to engage directly with the packaging industry.<\/p>\n\n

Why do we reuse beer bottles and restaurant cutlery without a second thought, yet a reusable mushroom tray suddenly seems like quite a challenge? \u201cThere is still a significant lack of knowledge about how we can extend the lifespan of products,\u201d explains Els Du Bois, research professor at the University of Antwerp and founder of REuseLab. The research centre looks far beyond the question of whether something is technically reusable. Because, according to her, that is not where the biggest challenge lies.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou can reuse a great many products. The real question is what value chain you need to do so, and how you build confidence that the product can be reused safely and to a high standard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

This is particularly true of packaging, but equally so for clothing, electronics and the medical sector. Products and materials in these sectors are often written off quickly. \u201cIn the healthcare sector, a great many instruments and materials have become single-use,\u201d says Els. \u201cSafety is, of course, always the top priority, but nowadays there is sometimes a perception that safety automatically equates to single-use. We need to learn to think differently about this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

From \u2018consumers don\u2019t want it\u2019 to \u2018why not?\u2019<\/h2>\n\n

Reuse requires more than just a good product. In the food and medical sectors, users need to be able to trust that inspections, cleaning and quality assurance are carried out properly. What\u2019s more, it\u2019s often simply easier to buy something new and throw the old one away.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we mustn\u2019t be too quick to assume: \u2018Consumers don\u2019t want it\u2019,\u201d says Sarah Van Vlierberghe, business developer at REuseLab. She acts as a bridge between researchers and businesses, translating scientific studies into practical guidance. \u201cWe want to understand exactly what challenges people face. What barriers do they encounter? And, above all: how can we remove them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The reusable mushroom tray \u2013 a trial involving all the major retailers in Mechelen \u2013 is a fine example of this. It took no less than two years to get the entire value chain on board. Ultimately, all the major retailers joined the project: a unique achievement and a powerful signal. At the same time, many questions remain. How will the packaging be returned? What is needed to scale up? And how can consumers be given sufficient opportunities to get used to a new habit? \u201cThere won\u2019t be a single solution,\u201d says Els. \u201cBut to really learn, we need to move beyond small-scale trials and scale up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Ideas and practice<\/h2>\n\n

At Empack, REuseLab is therefore actively seeking to engage in dialogue. \u201cThe industry must constantly reinvent itself,\u201d says Sarah. \u201cWe want to find out what companies need to take the next steps, whilst at the same time sharing our knowledge. It really is a two-way process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

During a talk and interactive workshop entitled \u2018Packaging with Added Value\u2019, REuseLab explores the user\u2019s perspective. \u201cIdeally, visitors will bring their own packaging and challenges with them, so that together we can identify barriers and translate these into possible solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cEveryone who forms part of the value chain is welcome to join us,\u201d concludes Els. \u201cEveryone has their own challenges, and that\u2019s precisely why we need to include everyone in the discussion. The most important thing? A willingness to think differently together.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Looking for practical tips and advice on reusing a product or its packaging? REuseLab is here to help everyone. REuseLab\u2019s first appearance at Empack will feature a talk and a workshop offering practical guidance on the reuse of packaging. REuseLab, an impact lab at the University of Antwerp, is investigating what is needed to make […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1614,"featured_media":58154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Learning to think differently with REuseLab at Empack","_seopress_titles_desc":"Learning to think differently with REuseLab at Empack | REuseLab | Empack Ghent 2026","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"edition":[],"class_list":["post-59532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empack.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empack.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empack.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empack.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1614"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empack.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59532"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.empack.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59533,"href":"https:\/\/www.empack.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59532\/revisions\/59533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empack.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empack.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empack.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empack.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59532"},{"taxonomy":"edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empack.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/edition?post=59532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}