Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 25th April 2024 Issue no. 1111
Your industry news - first
The original and best - for over 20 years!
We strongly recommend viewing Cleanzine full size in your web browser. Click our masthead above to visit our website version.
Combatting plastic waste crisis, SC Johnson expands offerings of concentrate products
As an early champion of concentrate products nearly a decade ago, SC Johnson is continuing to address the plastic waste crisis by expanding and widening access to its concentrate offerings.
"Plastic waste is becoming a bigger and bigger environmental problem," says Fisk Johnson, chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. "We hope more people can give concentrates a try as every single time you use a concentrate bottle you use nearly 80% less plastic waste."
Beyond ease of use, the benefits of concentrate refills are primarily environmental. SC Johnson trigger bottles, for example, deliver more than 10,000 sprays and can be refilled dozens of times. By purchasing bottles with such a long lifespan, millions of pounds of plastic waste are stopped from ending up in landfills.
"Refilling with a concentrate is a small change that could make a real difference in minimising plastic waste," adds Fisk. "Together, we can reduce plastic waste and work towards a cleaner planet."
The company continues to take leaps forward in waste reduction and is dedicated to the circularity of its products. For example, Windex bottles have been made with 100% post-consumer recycled plastic since 2015 and this Spring the company introduced the first-ever 100% recycled ocean plastic bottle from a major home cleaning brand with its Windex Vinegar line. Plans are underway to launch a 100% Social Plastic Windex bottle with partner Plastic Bank by Autumn 2019; the bottle is designed to help the environment and address poverty at the same time.
Five Southeast Asian countries - China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand - accounted for up to 60% of the plastic waste leaking into the ocean, according to a 2015 report by the Ocean Conservancy and the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment. Efforts to improve recycling infrastructures in this part of the world are paramount. By raising collection rates to an average of roughly 80% across these five countries, plastic-waste leakage into the ocean would be reduced by almost 25%.
To help address this, SC Johnson has partnered with Plastic Bank and opened nine collection centers in Indonesia with plans for expansion. Through this program, the company has created recycling programs as part of the solution to minimising plastic waste and addressing poverty. The program is transforming lives by providing social and economic benefits in exchange for recycling used or collected plastic waste. It is designed to educate on recycling and get people to live with and use plastic responsibly.
9th May 2019