Reusable Shipping Boxes for Dental Technology & Dental Labs

Dental technology

Something is on the move between practice and lab every day: impressions, models, dental prosthetics.

With reusable shipping boxes from hey circle you turn that back-and-forth into a closed loop - without cardboard mountains, without filling material, with better protection.

Box L compared with a single-use cardboard box of the same size containing 80 % recycled material, calculated over 50 cycles. Data source: Ökopol life cycle assessment. The 53 % are an average from real customer calculations.

How the loop works

You send the impression to the lab in the hey circle box. The lab sends the finished prosthetic back in the same box. After that the box is ready for use again straight away - for an average of 50 cycles.

And if packaging piles up at your customers: collecting works too - above a defined quantity the bundled return shipment goes back free of charge, the way Prinoa Dental does it with its customers.

  • Pack & close

    • Place the impression, model or prosthetic safely inside the box
    • Close the box with the zip or slip-on lid for tamper-evident protection - no tape needed
    • Optionally secure the shipment with a security seal

  • Ship

    • Stick the shipping label onto the label holder
    • Hand the parcel over to your carrier as usual
    • hey circle boxes run in the normal parcel network - overnight services such as GO! work just as well

  • Return

    • The finished prosthetic comes back in the same box - the return journey is built in
    • Peel off the old label without residue, stick on the new one
    • Fold the boxes flat and send them back bundled, or refill them right away - no single-use cardboard box per shipment

Dental technology & reusables: a dream team

  • High frequency

    Your shipping runs daily between the same partners - that is exactly what a reusable loop is built for. The more often the box travels back and forth, the bigger your advantage over single-use.

  • Save three times over

    According to the Ökopol life cycle assessment (2023), the hey circle Box L saves 94 % packaging waste and 76 % CO2 over 50 cycles compared with a single-use cardboard box of the same size containing 80 % recycled material. Packaging costs fall by 53 % on average, based on real customer calculations. The box travels full in both directions, so there is no empty return shipment.

  • Protection

    Impressions and dental prosthetics are precision work. Dimensionally stable boxes with padding protect better than yet another cardboard box - tested with up to 400 kg stacking pressure and in a drop test from 80 cm.

  • Hygiene

    The surfaces are made of plastic, do not pick up dirt and are very easy to wipe clean inside and out.

  • Regulation

    The PPWR has applied since 12 August 2026. From 2030 it sets reuse targets for certain transport packaging such as plastic crates and pallets; boxes made of cardboard or paperboard are exempt. Whether your shipping is affected depends on format and supply relationship - we are happy to check this with you. Setting up the loop now means you gain experience before customers or regulators ask for it.

Matching packaging

Prinoa Dental: reusable shipping in the dental lab since 2022

Prinoa Dental in Solingen has been shipping with hey circle since September 2022 - size S boxes for outbound shipments, size L bags for bundled returns. The idea came from the shop floor: from the dental technicians who used to unpack and dispose of cardboard boxes every day. Read the full story

As a company we see it as our responsibility to make our contribution to global climate protection. That is why we designed our processes from the outset around the premise of maximum sustainability.

Marcus Kalb | Managing Director, Prinoa Dental GmbH

Frequently asked questions

How many cycles does a box last?

On average 50 cycles per packaging unit, 40 to 70 depending on the product. You'll find the exact figures on each product.

How does the packaging come back?

Either directly in the back-and-forth loop - the dental restoration comes back in the same box. Or collected: your customers fold the packaging flat to save space and send it back in bundles free of charge, as Prinoa Dental does with its customers.

What about hygiene?

The surfaces are made of plastic, do not attract dirt and are very easy to wipe clean inside and out.

Does this work with our parcel carrier?

hey circle boxes run through standard parcel shipping without a surcharge - overnight services such as GO! work too, as Prinoa shows. Find out more under parcel carriers.

Is it worth it for a small lab?

What matters is shipping frequency, not the size of your lab: if you work regularly with the same practices, you benefit from the first loop onwards.

How can you save with reusables?

Our team will be happy to advise you on the benefits of reusable shipping packaging for your shipping loop.

Get advice now