Turning reusable containers into a habit, not an effort

Single-use plastic and cardboard are still the default in shops and canteens, not because there's no alternative, but because reusable systems are usually more hassle than they're worth. The CESAM project set out to change that with an intelligent physical locker where reusable containers can be borrowed and returned as easily as picking one up.

Sparsity's role was to design and develop the software that brings the locker to life (the layer that makes borrowing, tracking and returning containers effortless for the people using it) while giving Go Zero Waste and their partners the operational visibility to run the system at scale.

The result is a seamless loop: pick up a reusable container, use it, return it, no single-use packaging needed. A small change in behaviour with a real reduction in waste, built to work in the everyday rhythm of a shop or canteen rather than against it.