When the budget is set through a one-year window, the cost of single-use packaging, renewed on every shipment, and the cost of a returnable container, spread over years, never appear in the same table, and the first price gap looks larger than it is. A ten-year comparison is therefore made on cost per delivery, not on purchase price.
The rules also move in that time. The EU packaging regulation (EU) 2025/40 entered into force on 11 February 2025, has applied since 12 August 2026 and brings binding reuse targets; anyone shipping into the EU market cannot treat the current cheapness of single-use packaging as fixed.
Repairability sets the life of a container. On the GEBHARDT Isotec TBX, individual rivet and screw connections allow many components to be replaced easily; a container that cannot be repaired goes to scrap at the first major damage. When buying, compare the spare-parts list as well as the price list.
- Pick the same period and the same number of completed deliveries.
- For single-use, list purchase, coolant, waste and shipment charge; for returnables, purchase or rental, outbound and return freight, washing, repair, loss and residual value.
- Divide total period cost by the number of deliveries; take the number of uses from inventory movements instead of estimating.
- Show the result in three scenarios: expected use, a lower return rate and frequent repair.
