Circulr: Creating Sustainable Value from an Empty Jar

Circulr was a start-up that provided a solution for consumer waste by collecting used packaging, washing it, and selling it back to the original brand and product manufacturer so that the packaging could be reused. Instead of building its own washing facility, Circulr rented spare washing capacity from industrial kitchens. The company’s co-founders had ambitious goals for Circulr, but in order to achieve them, there were two essential issues that needed to be resolved. The first issue was that of incentivizing brands, manufacturers, and end-users to reuse their packaging. Disposable packaging remained extremely convenient for consumers, and Circulr needed to develop a collection system that made it easy and rewarding for consumers to place their used packaging in Circulr’s collection bins instead of in the garbage can. The second issue was that of operational scale and configuration. If Circulr were to successfully grow demand and supply over time, how would its operational system evolve to achieve the necessary capacity and capabilities? Could the use of third-party washing facilities continue to be sustainable at scale? How would processes and policies evolve to gain competitiveness?

The case can be used in undergraduate- and graduate-level courses on sustainability, circular economy, operations management, or entrepreneurship. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<ul><li>Explore important strategic and operational challenges faced by companies that provide reusing services.</li><li>Examine the economic viability and operational effectiveness of a reusing business by applying tools such as process capacity analysis and economic break-even analysis.</li><li>Assess the potential externalities that a reusing business creates for the natural environment by applying basic life-cycle assessment.</li></ul>

• reusing
• environmental sustainability