Australian circular packaging company Viscount, in partnership with Woolworths Group, has received a 2026 WorldStar Packaging Award for the Woolworths reusable eCom tote, following its 2025 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Award win where the tote was awarded gold in the Outside of the Box category.
Developed through collaboration between Woolworths’ ReUse Co and Viscount, the tote is made from up to 90% recycled plastic sourced from end-of-life Woolworths totes.
David Smith, CEO of Viscount, says, “Winning a WorldStar Packaging Award reinforces our belief in the power of partnerships and collaboration in delivering truly meaningful changes in circularity and improved business outcomes.”
Matt Goodwin, head of ReUse Co, Woolworths 360, adds, “By producing these totes from 90 per cent recycled plastic here in Australia, we have achieved a solution that is not only more sustainable but also lower cost than previous imports.”
The totes are manufactured onshore, replacing imported virgin-plastic alternatives. Damaged units are collected, reground and remanufactured locally. To date, more than 150,000 totes have been produced, saving an estimated 270 tonnes of virgin plastic, with over 400,000 now in rotation and reused 167 million times to deliver 1.7 billion items in more than 40 million orders.
Engineering redesign used Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Mould Flow Analysis (MFA) to optimise load distribution and material flow, reducing weight by 300 grams per tote without affecting durability. RFID tracking gives each tote a digital identity for monitoring usage, return rates and performance.
Smith says, “Circularity is embedded not only in the product, but in the system supporting it… ensuring no tote becomes waste or enters landfill.”
The WorldStar Packaging Awards, delivered by the World Packaging Organisation, judged more than 481 entries in 2026 across sustainability, design, engineering and scalability. The official awards ceremony will take place on 8 May at interpack. PKN will be in attendance.
