Glossary
ReuseScore
ReuseScore collects data on what people actually do with empty packaging. Not what they say they do — but what really happens when a jar is empty and there are 30 seconds left to decide.
LabelScore
Rates how easily all stickers and labels can be removed from a container — on a scale from 1 (barely possible) to 5 (effortless). The harder to remove, the more often the packaging ends up in the bin — even if the container itself could be reused well.
Packaging Friction
Everything that makes reusing packaging harder: labels that won't come off, adhesive residue, pumps that stick, containers that are difficult to clean. Packaging Friction is the main reason packaging ends up in the bin — even though the container would still be perfectly usable.
Transition
The moment between "packaging is empty" and "decision has been made". Exactly this moment interests ReuseScore: what happens at the kitchen table when someone holds an empty container in their hands?
Kept
The core question in every observation: did the person keep the packaging after it was emptied — or throw it away? Everything else builds on this one answer.
Refilling
The packaging continues to be used as a container — with the same or different contents. Examples: refilling a soap dispenser, filling an empty bottle with water, using a screw-top jar for homemade jam.
Storage
The packaging receives solid contents — it becomes a storage container. Examples: screw-top jar for screws, pens, or cosmetics.
Decoration
The packaging becomes an object — without contents, as decoration or an everyday item. Examples: vase, candle holder, plant pot.
Upcycling
The packaging is turned into something structurally different — it stops being a container. This goes beyond what ReuseScore primarily measures, but is a valid data point.
Recycling
The material is returned to the cycle. Recycling is not a second life in ReuseScore's sense — it is the end of the container. ReuseScore measures what happens before recycling.
Observation
A single report — one person has rated a container. Every observation contains at least three pieces of information: LabelScore, interior cleaning, kept or not. Everything else is voluntary.
Minimum dataset
The three pieces of information ReuseScore always needs: LabelScore, how well the interior of the container could be cleaned, and whether it was kept. More is better — but these three are enough for a valid result.
PPWR
The EU Packaging Regulation comes into effect in August 2026. It requires manufacturers to provide greater transparency about the lifecycle of their packaging. ReuseScore provides exactly the data this regulation calls for — collected not in a lab, but at the kitchen table.
What ReuseScore does not measure
Recyclability, packaging costs, nutritional values, product quality. ReuseScore measures exclusively the behaviour towards empty packaging — and why some containers get a second life and others do not.
Terms at a glance
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Packaging Friction | Properties that make reuse more difficult |
| Transition | The moment between empty and decision made |
| Observation | A single user rating |
| Minimum dataset | The three required fields: LabelScore, cleaning, kept |
| LabelScore | Removability of all labels, scale 1–5 |
| Refilling | Container stays a container, new contents |
| Storage | Container stores solid material |
| Decoration | Container becomes an object |
| Upcycling | Container becomes something structurally different |
| Recycling | End of container — outside ReuseScore's scope |
| PPWR | EU Packaging Regulation from August 2026 |