Spin – Reuse: easy to choose!

Spin by Valorlux, the convenient solution for borrowing reusable packaging for take-away and delivery service.

Discover all the information on Spin below!

The Spin by Valorlux pilot project ended on 13th December 2023.

Thank you to all our partners and users for their participation during the 8 months of the pilot project!

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What is Spin?

Spin is:

A system for borrowing reusable packaging

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  • You share packaging with the other members of the Spin community instead of buying them.
  • You can enjoy your take-away drink without wasting new resources for the production of one-way packaging each time.

Free of charge

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  • You don’t need to advance money for the deposit.
  • You don’t need a subscription.
  • You have 12 days to return the packaging at a drop-off point. After this period, 5 EUR per borrowed cup/lid will be debited from your payment method.

Digital

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  • You can find all the information in the app.
  • All the data on your past and current loans is available.

Evolving and adaptable

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  • Borrowing a reusable tray for salad and packaging for pizza? A solution that is available in the whole country?
  • We are working on it!

Hygienic

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  • Compliant with laws regarding food safety and hygiene norms: because these are non-negotiable!

Regional

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  • Production of cups and lids in Germany, production of the containers in Belgium, washing in Luxembourg.
  • All materials used are recyclable and are recycled in neighbouring countries.
  • Marketing materials and the displays are produced in Luxembourg from recyclable materials.

Let's go!

1. Download the app

2. Create an account

Before placing your first order, you have to have a Spin account where you have put in a payment method (credit card/Apple Pay/Google Pay) which is used as a security for the loan of the packaging.

3. Fancy a drink?

Go to a SpinPoint to order your drink

1) Open the app.

2) Click on “Borrow”.

3) Show your personal QR code when ordering.

4. Done with your drink?

Drop off your packaging at a SpinPoint

1) Open the app.

2) Click on “drop off”.

3) Scan the QR code of the cup/lid you want to drop off and the QR code of the drop-off point.

4) Drop off the packaging in the container and confirm the operation in the app.

5. Do it again!

The SpinPoints

A SpinPoint is a place where you can borrow or drop off Spin packaging. Activate each filter on the map to discover where to borrow and where to drop off the Spin cups and lids!

The partners of the pilot project

Do you want to participate in the project as a SpinPoint (drop-off and/or pick-up)?

Contact us!

The Spin by Valorlux app

  • Clear purpose with three main functions:

    - Borrow Spin items

    - Drop off Spin items

    - Locate SpinPoints

  • Visualise your current transactions:
    - The loans

      - The latest drop-off date

 

  • Transaction history:

    - Status of your borrowed items (dropped off/not dropped off)

    - Transaction history

    - Collected deposit

  • Notifications:

    - Inform you of latest drop-off date

How does Spin work? The rotation cycle.

 

  1. Before they are put into the reuse circuit, all the items are washed and packaged into containers at Sanem. Then, they are ready to begin their first rotation cycle.
  2. The logistics partner picks up the containers and distributes them in the SpinPoints. Now, the items are ready for use and can be served to consumers.
  3. After consumption, the cups and lids are dropped off by consumers into the dedicated containers within the SpinPoints.
  4. The logistics partner picks up the containers filled with used packaging and drops off empty and clean containers on a daily basis.
  5. The cups and lids are transported to the washing centre where a quality control is carried out and all items are washed.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. About Spin

Spin is a loan-based reusable packaging system for take-away and home delivery services. Instead of using packaging for a very short period of time and then throwing it away, Spin offers you the opportunity to borrow reusable packaging for the duration of your drinks/takeaway consumption. The system aims to reduce the amount of single-use packaging waste that is thrown away every day in Luxembourg.

 

 

From 1st January 2025, single-use packaging for takeaway and home delivery will be banned. This means, for example, that from that date onwards you will no longer receive single-use packaging when you order a takeaway coffee or a pizza for home delivery. The law provides that all such packaging must be reusable by 2025.

In this context, Spin intends to offer a nationwide and accessible solution for everyone - businesses and consumers - to enable an easy transition to delivery and takeaway services.

Spin refers to the rotations that packaging undergoes during its life cycle. Our ambition is to keep the packaging in the system as long as possible and to rotate it as much as possible. The packaging is designed to perform at least 500 rotations. However, if the packaging disappears in your cupboards, the system will be unsustainable and ecologically inefficient. For this reason, we strongly encourage you to return borrowed packaging.

That is correct. For the launch of Spin, we are only offering a 0.3 litre reusable cup. Other packaging (for pizza, trays and other take-away/delivery cups) will be added as the system develops.

Rest assured! Our ambition is to make Spin a national system available throughout the country. Having said that, we felt that Luxembourg City was the ideal place for the pilot project to take place. As soon as the system has proven its efficiency, viability and stability, other locations and localities will be added to the system.

2. How much does it cost?

Spin is a reusable packaging system based on the concept of borrowing. Instead of advancing money for a deposit or buying the packaging, you borrow the packaging for a maximum of 12 days. If you do not return the borrowed packaging, the deposit will be charged to your payment method. However, if you return the packaging on time, your participation remains completely free!

 

For each cup and/or lid not returned on time, we will debit EUR 5 from your payment method. In the app, we inform you of the return times for borrowed packaging. You can find this information under the heading "Current loan(s)".

We are aware that 5 EUR is a lot of money for one packaging item. That's why we give you 12 days to return it. However, we recommend that you make efficient use of the system and return the borrowed packaging as soon as you have finished your drink! A drop-off point where you can easily return the packaging is certainly close to your location in Luxembourg City and you won't have to remember to return it!

You have to provide a payment method as a guarantee at the latest when you borrow your first packaging. We will only debit your payment method if you don’t return the borrowed items within 12 days. Participating in Spin is therefore free of charge for you as long as you return the packaging to a drop-off point within the specified period.

No. At the moment only credit cards, Google Pay and Apple Pay allow you to access Spin. However, we are currently evaluating how to adapt the system to include a non-credit card based solution.

3. Let's go, I'm testing Spin!

Yes, at the moment the system is only available digitally. However, we are currently evaluating the possibility of offering a non-digital solution in the future. The Spin app can be used in all SpinPoint locations.

 

The application is compatible from version 8.0 for IOS and is optimised from version 31 for Android (minimum 21).

Yes, the app is free to use and we have no plans to include any paid content.

We only collect data that is strictly necessary for the proper functioning of the system. All the operation and management of the system is compliant with the GDPR rules in force. Our goal is to test a reuse system and not to send you personalised ads. The use of the application is free of charge and without advertising content. You can find more information about the data collected in our privacy policy.

The QR code in the application under the "Borrow" section is a unique QR code associated with your user account. The packaging you borrow also has a QR code. When you borrow the packaging, it is linked to your user account. All the information about the borrowed packaging is also available in the application under the heading "Current loan(s)". The drop-off locations also have a QR code. By scanning their QR code and the QR code of the packaging you return to the drop-off location, the packaging will be dissociated from your user account and no deposit will be charged to your account. During washing, a second scan of the QR codes of the packaging will confirm the presence of the packaging at the washing centre.

You can borrow Spin packaging from one of the participating shops - also known as SpinPoints. The list of shops is available on the map in the "Spin by Valorlux" app and on the spin.lu website. To find the shop nearest to you, open the app, look at the map, click on "Pick-up points" and go to the SpinPoint nearest to you.

You can return Spin packaging to one of the participating shops - also called SpinPoints. To find your nearest drop-off location, open the app, look at the map, click on " Drop-off points" and go to your nearest SpinPoint.

No, you can return the packaging to any Spin drop-off point. In the app, look at the map and click on "Drop-off points" to identify the SpinPoint nearest to you.

Yes, of course you can! Whether you are with family or friends, you only need one user account to equip everyone! However, make sure that everyone returns the packaging, because in this specific case, all borrowed packaging is guaranteed via this one user account! All the loans that are active under your user account will be displayed transparently in the application.

Yes, they can! However, we recommend that you entrust the drop-off of the packaging to someone you trust, as the deposit in connection with this packaging is directly linked to your payment method.

You have 12 days to return the borrowed packaging to a SpinPoint. After these 12 days, we will charge EUR 5 for each item that has not been returned on time on your payment method.

 

 

Of course! To do so, go to the application settings. Under "My preferences" you will find the "Notifications" section. Under "Latest drop-off date" you can activate notifications so that you are notified 1, 3 or 5 days before the return deadline.

4. What about hygiene?

No, you do not need to wash the borrowed items before returning them to us. However, we do ask you to empty the cups before returning them to a SpinPoint.

 

 

Yes, each item that is dropped-off to a SpinPoint is collected at the latest the next day and washed in a washing centre equipped with a specialised machine for washing plastic packaging.

Spin complies with all applicable hygiene standards, norms and laws. For example, all packaging is certified as being suitable for food contact. In addition, the hygiene and food safety standards of the gastronomic and food sector are applicable and enforced in the washing centre and in the partner shops.

In order to guarantee high hygiene standards, quality controls are in place at various levels: the washing centre checks each item before placing it in the washing machine and discards any items that are visibly altered (e.g. the shape) or whose contents appear to have been a non-food substance. These items are discarded and will no longer enter the reuse loop. Similarly, before handing over a Spin item, shop staff will also visually check the condition of the packaging that is handed over to you.

5. Sustainable development

The cup and lid are made of 100 % Polypropylene.

 

 

Contrary to many opinions expressing scepticism against plastic, we believe that plastic is still an effective material.

Compared to other materials that might have been suitable for our system, polypropylene:

  • is robust, doesn’t break (unlike glass or ceramic)
  • is lighter than glass, metal or ceramic, optimising transport
  • doesn’t conduct heat (unlike metal)

The guaranteed number of rotations is around 500 if the cups are washed and handled according to the producer's recommendations.

The reusable nature of packaging means that it has to be much more robust than single-use packaging. This means that they require a greater amount of material during production. If the packaging only goes through a few rotations or disappears into the customer's cupboard after one rotation, the environmental impact of such packaging is certainly worse than that of single-use packaging. This is why we strongly encourage you to return the packaging to us. Only by maximising the number of rotations can the impact of production be reduced over time.

Washing and transport will occur with each rotation of the packaging. However, with each rotation, resources related to the production of single-use packaging can be saved, as well as the resources to recycle it. On the washing side, some of the water is recovered for the next wash cycle - optimising water resources. On the transport side, our short-haul strategy applies, meaning we wash our packaging locally to reduce the distances travelled. For the pilot project, an electric vehicle is used to transport the containers with the cups and lids.

Our short-haul strategy and our desire to support the local and European economy leads us to source our materials from producers located in Luxembourg, the Greater Region and Europe. Thus, the packaging is produced in Germany, the collection containers come from Belgium and the material for the drop-off points as well as the communication and marketing material come from Luxembourg.

Packaging that can no longer be used is recycled. Items are removed and stored separately by the washing centre. They are then added to the existing stream of polypropylene packaging at the sorting centre and transported to the recycler.