The reusable packaging is a key investment for every supply chain that aims to reduce costs and the environmental impact.

The reusable packaging in polypropylene can have a very long lifespan, even over 20 years, and once the product has become part of the company logistics it is possible to remove all the disposable packaging, mostly made of cardboard.

Cardboard, thanks to its vegetable origin, at times is seen as more ecological than plastic, however a correct comparison requires to evaluate the overall environmental impact caused by the production and the disposal of both packaging materials for the entire duration of a supply. In fact, a single polypropylene container can be reused thousands of times, avoiding the purchase and disposal of as many cardboard boxes and, at the end of its use, it can be easily recycled and none of its plastic molecules is going to be dispersed in the environment. The cardboard packaging, on the other hand, must be disposed after each use and, even if most of it can be recycled, a part still has to be eliminated by combustion with the consequent production of ashes, micro-dust and inert residuals.

The picture above shows the life cycle of the reusable container Ondabox made of Polionda® corrugated polypropylene and HDPE pallet and lid:

1. The container can be produced using 100% recycled plastics and then is put into the supply chains of a component manufacturer, a final assembler or a logistic company that manages the transports between the two.
2. An outbound transport by truck from the component manufacturer to the final assembler can transfer 68 Ondabox EP full of material (outer dimensions of a single Ondabox EP: 1.200 x 800 x H 850 mm).
3. Upon arrival, after the inner material has been removed, the containers can be collapsed by disassembling and folding the sleeves, thus reducing their total height to 195 mm and allowing an return transport of 408 pieces within the same truck volume of the outbound journey.
4. At the end of its life, the container can be recycled in a very economical way with a simple mechanical process of grinding and regranulation, and then its plastics can be reinserted into the production process for the creation of a new Ondabox. It must be underlined that usually the containers are disposed due to mishandling and consequent damages, and not because of a true wear of the plastics.

The economics of the operation are also indicative of the cash advantages and the limited environmental impact associated with this solution. The purchase of recyclable packaging requires an investment of 8-10 times higher than that for the equivalent disposable packaging, while the return of each Ondabox can cost 1 or 2 €: as a consequence, after the first 12-15 trips the investment in reusable packaging is already paid off. If these are followed by other hundreds or thousands of other trips, the savings will be considerable.

Finally, it is useful to remember that:

• Ondaplast can produce reusable packaging with Polionda® corrugated PP with customized dimensions, to satisfy any customer need.
• The Ondaplast reusable packaging offering also includes all the internal accessories, such as:
  o Layers
  o Dividers
  o PE foam slots
  o Pockets in fabric, evolon or TNT
• The Ondaplast production also includes products in Polionda® corrugated polypropylene different from the Ondabox, such as stackable boxes with frames, octabins, custom-made sleeves for special applications, layers and dividers for metal cages.

When necessary, it is possible to produce the polypropylene multi-way packaging in:
o Conductive ESD PP for electronic applications
o VCI anti-corrosion PP for the transport of oxidizable metal parts
o FR flame retardant PP for applications where the legislation requires to hinder the spread of fire
o Anti-UV PP for packaging products to be used outdoors.

• The main industrial sectors for the reusable packaging are:
  o Automotive
  o Mechatronics
  o Steel industry