Ecover, the innovative, sustainability-focused cleaning brand, has unveiled plans to launch a groundbreaking plastic packaging, incorporating post-consumer recyclables (PCR), Plantastic – plastic made from 100% sugarcane and plastic fished from the sea. Ecover’s Chief Executive, Philip Malmberg, told Packaging Europe, “We are trying to set an example by using packaging itself to help solve a problem partly created by packaging waste, and we hope that many other brand owners will follow our lead.
” Under the scheme, devised in partnership with the organisation Waste Free Oceans, a dedicated vessel will be used to recover plastic waste from European coastal waters, while collection points will be set up to enable recovery of marine debris picked up by European fishing trawlers. It is estimated that boats outfitted with customised equipment will be able to collect between 2-8 tonnes of waste per trawl. Collected waste from both sources will subsequently be sent to the Dagenham, UK, plant of Ecover’s partner Closed Loop Recycling, for processing.
Mr Malmberg estimates that the resulting recycled feedstock will begin to make their way into bottles on the shelf in early 2014, across 80% to 90% of Ecover’s product range, appearing first in the UK market before a gradual roll-out across Europe.
The announcement follows a series of packaging innovations from the company in recent years including the launch of 100% sugarcane-derived plastic – Plantastic – in 2010 which for the first time completely eliminated the need to use fossil-resourced plastic. This innovation was swiftly followed by a further move to tackle the growing plastic waste mountain, resulting in its most recent announcement of the inclusion of PCR into Plantastic bottles.
Source: Envirocentre.ie – Ecover to Use Recycled Plastic Recovered from the Sea
