Combining an RFID tag and a returnable container may be the key to earning a positive return on both investments. That's the idea behind a research project launched last year by the Returnable Pallet and Container Coalition (RPCC, www.rpcc.us).

The RPCC-funded project began with laboratory tests that proved the durability of RFID tags through vibration, falls and repeated cleaning. The project is now moving into its second phase—an extensive field trial.

RPCC says the six-month trial is the largest and most widely supported industry field test of RFID technology ever conducted on reusable transport packaging.

Thousands of reusable containers with affixed RFID tags are being filled with produce in fields in Washington and California. The containers are then shipped to Wal-Mart DCs where they are subject to washing, handling, refrigeration and storage before being sent to retail stores. They are later collapsed and sent back through the supply chain.

Each container will go through at least three cycles of use. At the end of each cycle, the RFID tags will be tested for viability and then re-encoded for the next cycle.

"Because perishables are shipped under the most demanding conditions," says an RPCC statement, "a successful field test with perishables will provide convincing evidence of the feasibility of using RFID technology with transport packaging in a wide range of other industries."

Upon completion of the field trial, RPCC will use data gathered during the trial to develop an economic model for integrating RFID tags with reusable containers.

Jeanie Johnson, executive director of the RPCC, says she expects the economic analysis to show significant cost savings over the use of one-way, throw-away tags on expendable containers.