Compass Group’s new Cauli reusable packaging system cuts 383,000 single-use items with 400-use containers

IRELAND – Compass Group UK & Ireland has expanded its partnership with Cauli to deploy technology-based reusable packaging for coffee cups, takeaway containers and pizza boxes, with each item designed for up to 400 uses and already eliminating more than 383,000 single-use items across high-volume catering operations.

The wider rollout follows a proof-of-concept period across Compass’s Restaurant Associates Group, Eurest, Chartwells and Healthcare operations, where the smart tracking system was tested in diverse high-volume settings. 

The system employs unique digital IDs on each packaging item to enable tracking and data transparency , with an AI-powered reverse vending machine integrated at Compass locations to automate container returns.

How Smart Tracking and 400-Use Containers Drive Circular Economy Accountability

Cauli co-founder Mingqiao Zhao explained that a truly circular economy relies on accountability, not just alternatives, noting that many reuse schemes fail because without tracking, packaging simply disappears. 

By integrating smart traceability into the system, containers remain in circulation while delivering data-backed waste reduction at scale, with the partnership proving the technology in high-volume, cross-sector environments. 

The system uses smart tracking tools that allow customers to borrow and return food and drink containers easily. 

Each Cauli packaging item carries a unique QR code that withstands over 400 cycles of transportation, heating and washing, with the containers processed through a closed-loop system where they are collected, washed and reused.

What Compass’s Our Planet Promise Means for Future Waste Reduction

The reusable packaging expansion aligns with Compass’s Our Planet Promise, which includes a 5 percent reduction in food waste in FY26 against a FY25 baseline, a 30 percent reduction in single-use foodservice packaging by 2035, and increasing recycling and anaerobic digestion to 65 percent by 2035. 

Compass Group UK and Ireland environment head Ashleigh Taylor stated that the company had been impressed by Cauli’s innovative reusable packaging initiative, with the statistics confirming the system has a positive impact in reducing single-use packaging. 

The company aims to further expand the Cauli system across its business to support its waste reduction commitments and help clients become more sustainable. 

Cauli, a climate technology start-up founded in London in 2019, has previously partnered with Heathrow Airport and BM Caterers to reduce single-use packaging waste.

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