Packaging / Returnable Asset
Packaging by type and returnable transport assets tracked individually through their cycles.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
3 bundles · 3 layers · 5 findings · 10 questions
Type and material What the packaging is and what it is made of.
Packaging type
The design, material and approvals of a packaging type.
Material and composition
The materials and their shares, including recycled content.
- Which materials make up this packaging, and in what shares by weight?
- What share of recycled content does it contain, and how is it verified?
Approvals and marks
Food contact, dangerous goods or other approvals and the marks shown.
- Is the packaging approved for food contact or for dangerous goods, and under which rule?
- Which recycling, approval or identification marks does it carry?
Returnable asset circulation Individual reusable assets and where they are.
Asset pool
The owner, the pool and the individual assets in circulation.
Asset identity and owner
An individual returnable asset with its identifier and owner.
- Which individual asset is this, and who owns it?
- To which pool or deposit scheme does it belong?
Location and custody
Where the asset is and who holds it now.
- Who holds the asset now, and since when?
- How many cycles has the asset completed, and when was it last inspected?
End of use What happens when packaging is emptied or worn out.
Return, reuse and disposal
Return, cleaning, repair, recycling or disposal.
End-of-use route
The route taken by the packaging after use.
- Was the asset returned, cleaned, repaired, recycled or disposed of?
- Which producer responsibility or deposit scheme covers this packaging?
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- World Models
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- standalone-mm
- Navigation path
- NAV.PHY.OBJ.PKG
- Domain
- PHY.OBJ.PKG
- Industry
- Cross-industry
- Tags
- packagingreturnableassetphy.obj.pkg
What it is Filled
Packaging and returnable assets are the containers and carriers that hold, protect and move goods, such as boxes, bottles, crates, kegs, pallets and intermediate bulk containers. One-way packaging is described by type and material; returnable assets are tracked as individual items that circulate between owners and users and come back for reuse. The goods inside and the shipment as a transport unit are separate subjects.
Why it exists Filled
Packaging by type and returnable transport assets tracked individually through their cycles.
Distinguishing features Filled
- One-way packaging is described by type, while returnable assets are tracked as individual items with an owner and a circulation history.
- Distinct from the goods it contains and from the shipment or handling unit it travels in.
- Ownership of a returnable asset usually stays with a pool operator while custody passes between users.
- Material and end-of-use data matter for producer responsibility and recycling rules.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Charge deposits or penalties not set by the scheme or contract.
- Approve packaging for food contact or dangerous goods without valid certification.
- Reuse an asset that failed inspection or is marked for withdrawal.
- Misstate recycled content or recyclability in claims.
- Write off assets as lost to hide misuse or theft.
Only with a human decision
- Withdrawing an asset from service or scrapping it.
- Approving packaging for dangerous goods transport.
- Settling disputes over lost or damaged returnable assets.
May
- Record issue, return, inspection and repair of returnable assets.
- Report where assets are and which holders keep them overdue.
- Calculate packaging material weights for producer responsibility reporting.
- Advise on reusable or lower-impact packaging options.
Moral aspects Filled
- Packaging waste pollutes land and sea; reuse and honest recyclability claims reduce harm.
- Failed packaging can contaminate food or release dangerous goods.
- Deposit and pooling schemes shift costs between producers, retailers and consumers.
Who is affected
- Consumers who use packaged goods
- Pool operators and asset owners
- Waste collectors and recyclers
- Communities affected by packaging litter
Owners Filled
Steward
The packaging producer owns type data; the pool operator or owner of returnable assets owns their circulation records.
Master systems
- Pool operator asset tracking systems
- Producer responsibility registers
- Deposit return scheme registers
Links to other meta-models Filled
neighbor
- wm-obj-021-handling-unit-logistics-container - Handling units group goods for transport; returnable assets are reusable carriers within them.
related
- wm-obj-001-physical-item-instance - An individual returnable asset is a tracked physical item.
references
- wm-flw-004-goods-movement-logistics - Returnable assets circulate through logistics flows.
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Individual returnable assets are identified by the GS1 Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI).
- Packaging types are identified by the producer's article number and, for trade items, the GS1 GTIN of the packed product.
- Dangerous goods packagings carry a UN packaging code marking.
Direct properties required Filled
- Empty mass in grams or kilograms, by material.
- Internal volume in litres or external dimensions in millimetres.
- Maximum load or stacking load in kilograms.
- Recycled content as a percentage by weight.
- Number of use cycles completed for returnable assets.
Recognition required Filled
- A container shaped to hold goods, often with a label, logo, recycling mark or owner marking.
- Returnable assets carry owner names, colours or tags such as barcodes or RFID.
- Easily confused with the goods themselves, with transport equipment, or with similar assets of another pool.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Contains and protects goods during storage and transport.
- Returnable assets can be cleaned, repaired and reissued for further cycles.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Damaged packaging can leak dangerous or contaminating contents.
- Heavy loaded pallets and containers can fall or crush people.
- Packaging waste pollutes the environment when not collected.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- GS1 GRAI and GS1 EPCIS for tracking returnable asset events.
- ISO 6780 and ISO 8611 for flat pallets.
- UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods for packaging marking.
Context of use required Filled
- Used across manufacturing, retail, food supply and logistics.
- Subject to packaging waste, food contact and dangerous goods regulation.
Sources Filled
- GS1 General Specifications, Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI), GS1
- UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations, United Nations
- Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste, European Union
Open questions
- Planned model: boundary questions, research and every section remain to be written.
Machine files
Provenance
planned (registry candidate) · todo
Built from: models/runtime-index.json, ver-cy/world-models/card-supplements/wm-obj-009-packaging-returnable-asset.json
Planned entry, hidden from the catalogue until researched.