Viscount and Woolworths Win Global WorldStar Packaging Award for Reusable eCom Tote

Australian circular packaging leader Viscount, in partnership with Woolworths Group, has received global recognition with a 2026 WorldStar Packaging Award for the Woolworths Reusable eCom Tote, following its earlier success at the 2025 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards. The solution was awarded Gold in the Outside of the Box category - a required accolade for eligibility to enter the WorldStar Packaging Awards.

Developed through a close collaboration between Woolworths' ReUse Co and Viscount, the Reusable eCom Tote represents a shared commitment to eliminating single-use packaging and embedding circular systems at scale within Australia's largest retail network. The partnership combined Woolworths' operational scale with Viscount's local manufacturing, engineering and circular supply chain expertise to manufacture a solution to improve the original design, reduce breakage rates and bring it on shore while incorporating recycled material from old eCom totes. This resulted in a redesigned, fully circular, reusable system capable of operating within one of Australia's most complex retail and eCommerce networks.

David Smith, CEO of Viscount says, "Winning a WorldStar Packaging Award reinforces our belief in the power of partnerships and collaboration in delivering truly meaningful changes in circularity and improved business outcomes. This win is a fantastic example of Viscount & Woolworths coming together to deliver a simplified solution for the Woolworths ecommerce tote which not only reduces costs but delivers outstanding sustainability benefits." 

Designed and manufactured in Australia:

• The totes have been produced using up to ~90% recycled plastic, sourced directly from end-of-life Woolworths totes.
• The solution replaces imported, 100% virgin-plastic alternatives with a fully circular, domestically made system, ensuring that design, manufacturing, recovery and remanufacture all occur onshore.
• At end of life, damaged totes are collected, reground, granulated and remanufactured into new totes within Australia - keeping materials in circulation and optimising the value of the recycled material. This approach reduces emissions, strengthens local supply chains and supports Australian manufacturing jobs.

Matt Goodwin, Head of ReuseCo, Woolworths 360 says, "Winning the WorldStar 2026 award highlights the value of combining circularity with local manufacturing. By producing these totes from 90% recycled plastic here in Australia, we have achieved a solution that is not only more sustainable but also lower cost than previous imports. This initiative demonstrates that local innovation is the key to simultaneously eliminating waste and securing a resilient supply chain."

The figures:

• To date, more than 150,000 reusable totes have been produced locally, saving an estimated 270 tonnes of virgin plastic.
• Onshore production has also reduced logistics emissions, supported by a 300-gram weight reduction per tote, achieved without compromising durability or performance across Woolworths' automated and manual handling systems.
• With over 400,000 totes now in rotation, since commencing the project Viscount have produced over 150,000 that have been added to the pool. The totes have been already been reused 167 million times to deliver 1.7 billion items in more than 40 million orders to Australian households.

Engineering excellence was central to the tote's redesign. Using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Mould Flow Analysis (MFA), Viscount and Woolworths jointly modelled pressure points, load distribution and material flow to optimise the tote's geometry. This data-driven approach strengthened high-stress areas while reducing overall material use, delivering a lighter, stronger tote designed to perform reliably across millions of reuse cycles.

The integration of RFID technology adds a level of intelligence rarely seen in reusable packaging at this scale. Each tote carries a unique digital identity, enabling Woolworths and Viscount to track location, usage history, return rates and performance across the network. This shared visibility supports continuous improvement, predictive maintenance and future design refinements - extending asset life and improving reuse efficiency.

"Circularity is embedded not only in the product, but in the system supporting it. A standardised national recovery process operates across every Woolworths store, where damaged totes are stacked on dedicated pallets, wrapped when full and backhauled to distribution centres using existing return-truck capacity. Consolidated loads are then transferred to use for shredding and remanufacture, ensuring no tote becomes waste or enters landfill," adds David.

Beyond environmental benefits, the tote supports domestic manufacturing jobs and reinforces Australia's commitment to the 2025 National Packaging Targets, meeting and exceeding goals for reusable and recycled plastic content.

The WorldStar Packaging Awards, delivered by the World Packaging Organisation (WPO), are regarded as the most prestigious international awards in packaging innovation. The 2026 judging process was conducted by an esteemed panel of 48 international judges representing WPO member countries, who reviewed more than 481 entries from around the world against rigorous criteria spanning sustainability, design excellence, engineering performance and scalability.

About Viscount:

Viscount is an Australian circular supply chain solutions provider that believes circularity is good for business and good for the planet. The company designs and delivers reusable packaging systems that cut waste, reduce costs and keep resources in circulation, supporting Australasian fresh food producers and supermarkets to achieve their sustainability goals. Viscount provides an end-to-end circular pooling service, including reusable plastic containers, national pooling and asset management, wash and sanitisation services, track-and-trace technology, asset design and innovation, and closed-loop recycling and remanufacturing. Formerly known as VPS, Viscount recently relaunched with a simplified brand, modernised identity and a clear vision of a world without single use, with no impact on customers or services. 

www.viscount.com.au

PR Contact: Lisa Solomons | Viscount | e: lisa.solomons@360pr.com.au or lisa.solomons@viscountreuse.com| 0416 175 518