Plastic waste from cleaning products? it can also be done differently. Hand soap, detergent, all-purpose cleaner – it's all wrapped in plastic and thrown away. Marcel's Green Soap is trying to change that.
How did Marcel's Green Soap come about?
“I was inspired by my three daughters. They said: 'Dad, the things you are doing are actually not that good for the planet and what the world will look like in 10, 20 years.' I have always worked at Unilever and large companies like that. That's where I stopped. Everyone has to clean their house every day, and in my opinion that can be a lot more sustainable and positive. That's how I founded Marcel's Green Soap, using only biodegradable ingredients and packaged in 100% recycled plastic. That started in the Netherlands, but we are now throughout Western Europe."
Why did you decide to make packaging from 100% recycled plastic?
"One of the reasons I left the big companies is that I no longer wanted to help bring more and more products, and therefore plastic, into the world. For example, in 1990 I put a product on the market in which 20% was recycled. It was a revolution at the time, but years later that product is still there and I really can't imagine that nothing has changed in the meantime. When I started three years ago, this was one of my first goals to get into 100% recycled plastic as quickly as possible. That wasn't that difficult at all."
How did you achieve that?
“I initially found a party in England that collected plastic milk bottles. I then entered into a partnership with a waste processing company and various parties to ensure that we collect plastic from Dutch households. We use that to make the new bottles. I like to use the term plastic footprint: like a carbon footprint, but specifically for plastic. My goal is to have a positive plastic footprint, in other words: to remove more plastic from the environment (through recycling) than I leave behind."
Do you think every producer should take that responsibility?
"That seems only logical to me. You can't just pump a few thousand bottles a day into the market, and as soon as it leaves the factory say that it is no longer your responsibility. You know that those bottles end up in the environment and all kinds of places where they don't belong. That responsibility cannot be placed solely on the government, or the consumer or the retailer. Yet this still seems to be the norm in the Netherlands plastic bottles thrown away every year. And I'm not even talking about the liters of harmful washing and cleaning products that we flush down the drain. People often don't realize how much plastic is involved problem is because it is not visible. As soon as plastic is in the garbage bin, it seems as if it no longer belongs to you and it is someone else's concern."
What else are you doing to reduce your plastic footprint?
"I am now looking into whether the plastic in my products can be completely removed. Instead of hand soap or shower gel, people can simply start using a bar of soap again. All you need to do is wrap a thin piece of paper around it, and then you have a great packaging. If you make detergent in powder form, plastic bottles are no longer necessary. Then you can switch to cardboard boxes. A challenge is sometimes to introduce people to this step by step: how do you encourage someone to adopt a new approach? to use a product? I think that also has to do with a positive message: I try to make sustainable cleaning fun first of all, and not point fingers. I am also developing various refill packaging and England there is a lot of demand for larger containers, so that people can go to the store with their own bottle to refill their washing up liquid, for example. That really requires a reverse way of thinking. If a bottle is empty, it is actually still a perfect one container in which you could use another liquid. But people throw it away and buy a new one. While they don't do that with an expensive luxury water bottle.”
Why are there no refill stations in the Netherlands yet?
"Unfortunately, taking your own jar or bottle to the supermarket is not yet possible in the Netherlands. This is mainly due to changes in stores. If you work with a refill system, for example, you would have to stick a code on your bottle and that would have to be be scanned in a different way at the checkout. Some kind of self-scanning system must be developed for this."
Finally, do you have a golden tip to save plastic when you clean your house?
"You can also simply use less soap. All my products are concentrated, so you can use them endlessly. I think I'm the only manufacturer who says: 'use less!'. You don't need much, and do so. "
Friday June 28, source: https://www.nationalgeographic.nl/milieu/2019/06/plastic-trouw-door-schoonmaakmiddels-het-kan-ook-anders
