Reusable: when does it pay off?
A reusable item does not beat single-use from day one. The tool tells you after how many uses yours pulls ahead, according to the studies, and when you will get there.
How it works
Making a reusable item usually has more impact than making a single-use one, so its line starts higher. But each use replaces a brand-new single-use item, and those add up fast. Where the lines cross, your reusable pulls ahead: that threshold is what the tool works out.
Your item
How often
One use means one shopping trip with your bag.
One use means one drink in your cup.
Nothing is saved. Close the tab and it is gone.
Your threshold
“It is the single-use nature of products that is the most problematic for the planet, more so than the material that they are made of.”
Claudia Giacovelli, UNEP Life Cycle Unit