In California, Ecover launched a new “Ecover Ocean Washing-Up Liquid Bottle” made from 50% plastic waste collected from the sea, waterways and shores of Rio de Janeiro and 50% post-consumer recycled plastic. The soap liquid is made from plant-based, biodegradable ingredients and the lightweight bottle design is intended to imitate nature and mimics a skeletal structure found in ocean micro-organisms.
Ecover told British Plastics that as part of its ambition to rethink the way we use plastic, the company will use 100% recycled plastic (PCR) in all bottles by 2020, and trial the use of biodegradable and plant-based alternatives to plastic. The company is also working with major retailers to find ways to offer consumers refill options in-store.
“Since 2014, we’ve collected over 11 tonnes of plastic as part of our Ocean Bottle campaign and recycled it back into our limited-edition Ocean Bottles making 425,000 bottles available for sale across Europe,” said Tom Domen, Head of Long Term innovation at Ecover.
“However, this is not a sustainable solution in the long-term. We believe that using virgin plastic is systemically wrong, which is why we have made it our ambition to stop our use of virgin plastic and trial alternative, bio-degradable materials by 2020.”