Plastic-free cleaning

An estimated 13 billion plastic bottles are being used in the UK every year. Most of these are found in our bathrooms or kitchens and used to keep our houses clean. Not only are these single-use bottles contributing to plastic pollution found in our oceans. But they contain lots of nasty chemicals too. And once the empty bottles make it to the ocean. They hang around a long time – like this Fairy Liquid bottle from the 70’s found a few years ago. 

Luckily, it’s now much easier to #ChooseToReuse and avoid buying cleaning products in single-use plastic packaging. Here are some plastic-free cleaning tip that are better for you, and better for the planet: 

You can also buy a number of zero-waste and refillable cleaning products from our friends at Good Club. Order from the comfort of your own home and it will be delivered straight to your doorstop, cleaning has never been so easy.

Another ‘just add water’ option are Iron and Velvet’s plastic-free sachets which dissolves in warm water in a couple of minutes. Offering anti-bacterial, multi-surface, oven, floor, glass and mirror cleaner, they have all your plastic-free cleaning needs covered. 

Ecover Refills

There are now more than 650+ Refill Stations across the UK where you can get your fill of Ecover products to keep your laundry smelling fresh and better for the planet. You can find refills of Ecover products and more by searching for your nearest Ecover refill store on the free Refill app.

You can also have your Ecover refills on standby under your kitchen sink or in your garage and keep your Ecover green cleaning products topped up so you never run out of laundry liquid or fabric conditioner, and use less plastic too. It’s great to be ecological and save on unnecessary plastic.

If you prefer your detergent in capsule form over liquid or powder they often come in plastic tubs. Globally, 90.5% of plastic waste has never been recycled and only 14% of plastic packaging is even collected for recycling. So even if these plastic bottles and containers say they can be recycled, guess where they’ll more than likely end up? Yep in landfill or in our oceans. Luckily, these planet-friendly companies have come up with some plastic-free solutions for our washing machines and dishwashers… 

Tru Earth Laundry Strips are tiny, pre-measured, liquid-less strips that can be thrown into the wash with your clothes and claim to be ‘as sensitive on the skin as it is to the environment.’  

Did you know that microfibres – tiny fragments of the type of plastic used to make synthetic fabrics from our clothes are being released into the rivers and oceans with every wash cycle? These harm the marine life, get ingested by animals in the aquatic food chain and even end up on our plates in our fish suppers! Plastics are certainly not what we ordered.  

The Chief Scientist for Ocean Conservation (George Leonard) estimates there are 1.4 million trillion microfibers in the ocean. 

So, what can we do about it? Well, we can start with our own laundry and buying one of these clever devices which trap microfibres being released in the wash: 

Inspired by the way the coral filters the ocean, the Cora Ball collects microfibres into a fuzz that can then be peeled off and disposed of properly. 

With these easy tips and switches, we can all make small changes and be part of the #RefillRevolution. Real change begins at home, so where better place to start to #ChooseToReuse than our kitchen and bathroom cupboards? Plus trying out all these plastic-free products has the added bonus of leaving your house sparkling clean! Win, win.