Does Reusable Actually Contribute to Lower GHG Emissions? Evidence from Food Delivery Packaging in South Korea

Reusable packaging can potentially lead to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through repeated use; however, it requires additional steps like collection and washing. In food delivery, quantitatively assessing whether emissions from these steps outweigh reuse benefits is crucial. This study compared the GHG emissions of single-use (PP/PET) and reusable (SST/PP) packaging within the food delivery sector of Seoul, utilizing the most recent localized empirical statistics updated through 2023, covering production, delivery, collection, washing, and disposal stages. The target reusable packaging, made of stainless steel and polypropylene, was selected to represent the average volume of a single meal portion in Korea’s delivery market, ensuring comparability with typical single-use packaging. Based on Korean food delivery trends, delivery distances were set to 1–5 km, with 300 reuse cycles assumed considering potential breakage. Baseline comparisons and mitigation scenario analyses were conducted. The results showed that single-use packaging consistently emitted less GHG at a 1 km delivery, with no break-even point reached. However, at 3 km and for four or more portions, an environmental break-even point occurred after 70 uses. Given the rising share of single-person households in Korea, excessively broad promotion of reusable items may lead to greenwashing by increasing the net environmental burden. Therefore, this study suggests a hybrid strategy focused on the optimization of delivery logistics and packaging. These findings provide a critical benchmark for environmental trade-offs in hyper-dense urban logistics, serving as a future scenario for other growing delivery markets.