Move over, recycling: Why you’re about to see this new ‘reuse’ symbol everywhere - News + Articles

Jul 02, 2026

You reduce and recycle, but do you reuse? This new symbol will help make it easier to join the circular economy.

We’re all familiar with the recycling symbol – those three arrows chasing each other around a loop. Now the world has a new symbol, and it’s aiming to help reduce the enormous amount of waste created by single-use packaging. Meet the reuse symbol.

What is the reuse symbol?

The reuse symbol is designed to help people easily identify reusable packaging and reuse systems. It was launched by PR3: The Global Alliance to Advance Reuse – an international public-private coalition dedicated to fighting the plastic and climate crises by scaling up standardised, large-scale reuse and returnable packaging systems.

This comes at a time of growing recognition that recycling alone cannot solve the plastic problem. Today, only nine percent of plastic waste is actually recycled, while the vast majority ends up in landfill, incinerators or polluting the environment.

Takeaway coffee cup — Choosing a reusable coffee cup is a small but impactful action you can take.

What is a reuse system?

Reuse systems – where packaging is returned, collected, washed and reused repeatedly – are increasingly emerging as one of the most effective alternatives to single-use packaging. According to PR3, at scale, reuse can cut single-use packaging production by as much as 90 percent and reduce emissions by up to 80 percent – a climate impact comparable to grounding the global aviation industry.

Huskee reusable coffee cups are made from upcycled coffee husk.

Will the reuse symbol be in Australia?

Australia is part of the active global rollout of the symbol, introducing it into already functioning reuse networks. ONe of the main early adopters is Huskee, which makes reusable coffee cups from waste coffee husk, a by-product of the coffee production process. Huskee already runs a popular swap-and-return network called HuskeeSwap across hundreds of Australian cafes. There’s no need to wash your cup – you just hand over your HuskeeCup at participating venues when you place your order, and you receive it in a cleaned cup.

Also working to incorporate the symbol is Cercle – a service that replaces disposable coffee cups at cafes in corporate office buildings, commercial precincts and large venues with high-quality reusable ones. You simply borrow a cup for your drink, drop it into a special collection bin when you’re finished, and Cercle takes care of collecting, washing and returning it to the cafe for the next person.

So, the next time you grab your morning coffee, keep an eye out for the new reuse symbol. Choosing to borrow and return a cup might seem like a small thing to change, but at scale, it’s a massive step towards leaving the throwaway economy behind for good.