Earth System Dynamics
Earth System Dynamics
ESD
Articles | Volume 16, issue 5
Articles | Volume 16, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-1865-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-1865-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 16, issue 5
Research article
 | 
27 Oct 2025
Research article |  | 27 Oct 2025

“History in a bottle”: tipping dynamics in packaging systems – the case of how a bottle reuse system was established and then undone

Fenna Blomsma, Mila K.-C. F. Ong, and Timothy M. Lenton

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Short summary
We investigate the initially successful transition from regional bottle reuse for mineral water to a widespread bottle reuse system in Germany, its subsequent destabilisation, and what this teaches us about tipping dynamics in packaging systems. Our findings demonstrate opportunities to create an enabling environment for change and the role of feedback loops and interventions in accelerating or impeding sustainable transitions.
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