Tabs, Wax Pods & Bars: Cutting Waste With Concentrates
Solid soap bars and shampoo and tooth tabs were only the tip of the concentrated waste reduction solution iceberg! A whole host of cleaning and bathroom products are now available in tablet, pod or solid bar form to replace liquid solutions in plastic packaging and refill reused bottles.
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Concentrate and tablet solutions not only save on packaging, coming in smaller sizes and not needing to be put in plastic bottles, they are also smaller and lighter to ship and store and can be packaged in plastic-free cardboard boxes that can be recycled or composted.
Biome shares: “According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, typical liquid cleaning products are made up of more than 90% water. Drying them out into a solid reduces their volume and weight, thus reducing the number of trucks, fuel and carbon emissions associated with shipping them. It also eliminates the need for plastic packaging, meaning less disposable plastic ends up in our landfills and environment.”
These are great zero waste cleaning and bathroom alternatives that you can stock up on and bring out when you need to refill your spray bottle or glass jar. Do the Earth a solid and choose one of these concrete solutions over plastic packaged wasteful liquid products for a lower impact:
Concentrated Cleaning Spray Products
Snap a solid cleaning concentrate bar and dilute it in boiling water to create a liquid spray, drop a tablet in warm water and leave it to dissolve or snip open a compostable wax pod and squeeze the concentrated liquid cleaner inside into water in a spray bottle to refill your cleaner without the waste!
Packaged in cardboard and completely plastic free, Ethique’s (AU/NZ) bathroom spray concentrate and kitchen spray concentrate bars weight only 25g and make 350ml of liquid cleaning product that you can use to refill spray bottles you already own at home.
How does it work? To turn the concentrate into liquid spray, simply mix the concentrated bars with boiling water. The step-by-step process is as follows:
Snap bar into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. Pour over hot water.
Whisk well till pieces have completely melted. Leave for five minutes to cool.
Pour into a bottle you already own and use as you normally would.
The diluted product lasts 6 months and each bar saves 700ml of water and one plastic bottle from manufacture and disposal into landfill.
The concentrate bars come in a compostable and recyclable cardboard box.
With Unpackaged’s all purpose spray refill tablets and bathroom spray refill tablets (AU), you simply fill a spray bottle with 500 ml of warm water, drop two tablets into the water and leave them to dissolve. The tablets come in a recyclable cardboard box and home compostable bags.
Oceansaver offers plastic free cleaning pod alternatives to various cleaning sprays, including sprays for the bathroom, kitchen, floors, and glass, as well as an all-purpose cleaner and an antibacterial spray. Check out its entire range of biodegradable plant-based cleaning pods aka Power Cleaning EcoDrops (UK), which are a highly concentrated cleaning solution contained in a dissolvable film.
Iron & Velvet’s selection of household cleaning dissolvable sachets (UK) is very similar. These sachets are made from poly vinyl alcohol (PVA), which has been approved for use in pharmaceuticals, and they dissolve fully when placed in warm water, creating a cleaning solution ready for use. Available cleaning sachets include a bathroom surface cleaner, a kitchen surface cleaner, an oven cleaner, a glass and mirror cleaner and a floor cleaner, as well as antibacterial versions.
Another great option is Etee, which sells concentrated all-purpose cleaner in backyard compostable wax-based pods. (CA/US) The concentrate in the pod is simply squeezed into a spray bottle filled with 375 ml of water to create 400 ml of cleaning spray.
The plastic-free pods the cleaner comes in are handmade in its Toronto shop, are made with 100% plant-based ingredients and can be composted in your compost bin.
Resparkle also provides all-purpose cleaner concentrate in a home compostable sachet (AU/NZ) for refilling bottles when your cleaner runs out.
Here’s all the options I could find:
Resparkle natural all purpose cleaning refill sachets (AU/NZ)
Iron & Velvet’s household cleaning dissolvable sachets (UK)
Solid Body Lotion Bars
Body lotion was a tough one to find waste free - until now! Body lotion concentrate bars are now a thing. Different end product, same process - add water and turn it into liquid to refill your body lotion jar at home.
Another option is body lotion bars that you don’t dilute, but simply rub the bar along your skin. The natural warmth of your skin softens and melts the lotion as you move it up and down your body. Etsy has lots of these - find one made by a local crafter that is packaged in a tin or in paper.
We found these options:
Ethique gentle body lotion concentrate unscented (AU) (US/CA here)
Ethique hydrating body lotion concentrate flourish (AU) (US/CA here)
Body lotion bars on Etsy (worldwide)
Waterless Powder Clay Masks
Mix clay mask concentrates with water or any skin friendly liquid, such as honey, a syrup like coconut or agave, hydrosol, or yoghurt, to form a paste to slather on your skin for some self care.
Detoxifying clay mask concentrates come in different combinations for different skin types and ailments. For example, rosehip and tansy balances dry and combination skin; rose geranium essential oil and rose petal powder help to regulate sebum production and brighten complexion; jasmine boosts astringent and skin balancing properties; rose hip deeply nourishes dry skin and is full of essential fatty acids and Vitamins A, C & E; nopal is high in antioxidants, amino acids and phytochemical for younger looking skin; tansy provides antioxidants, aiding in the reduction of fine lines, sun spots or marks; and chamomile, calendula and lavender soothe and help to regulate sebum production and control facial redness.
Clay mask concentrates are generally packaged in glass jars with aluminium lids. One jar will make numerous masks enabling weekly face refreshment.
Some examples are:
Laundry Detergent Concentrate Strips & Solid Bars
Laundry detergent strips like Tru Earth Eco-Strips (UK) condense the cleaning power of your usual liquid or powdered detergents into one little strip. This helps keep heaps of plastic detergent dispensers out of landfills every year - 700,000,000 of them according to Tru Earth! - and reduces carbon production in transport as they are extremely lightweight, as well as ensuring no mess around the laundry.
They’re a super easy to use eco-friendly laundry detergent option! You just place the strip in with your washing.
Tru Earth Eco-Strips (UK) are hypoallergenic and paraben and phosphate free and are sold in compostable packaging and dissolve completely in both hot and cold washes. They are certified by independent laboratory tests and are readily biodegradable in accordance with OECD 310D.
Life Without Plastic’s dilutable laundry bar (US) is small, lightweight, plastic-free, made from natural ingredients and minimalist, while containing enough detergent for up to 125 loads! To make the liquid, you dilute the bar in water and you can make however much you need, using the full bar or half or a quarter.
Get concentrated laundry detergent here:
Tru Earth Eco-Strips (UK) (US/CA here)
Glass Cleaner Tablets & Drops
Unpackaged’s cleaning tablets range, which come in a recyclable cardboard box and home compostable bags, includes glass cleaner spray refill tablets (AU). This plastic free option that cleans effectively without streaking for shiny, clear glass can be used to refill a bottle with a trigger head you already have or a refillable glass bottle can be obtained from Unpackaged.
Drop two tablets into 500 ml of warm water in a spray bottle, allow to dissolve, and then get cleaning with your new liquid cleaner in a reused sprayer.
Oceansaver’s range of biodegradable plant-based cleaning pods aka Power Cleaning EcoDrops also includes a cleaning drop glass cleaner (UK). These pods provide just the active ingredient, and not the unnecessary water provided in pre-mixed cleaning products, which are over 90% water.
To use these EcoDrops, which contain a highly concentrated cleaning solution in a dissolvable film, you simply pop one into a thoroughly rinsed out, empty plastic trigger bottle, add warm water and shake.
Get them here:
Dish Soap Refill Pods & Bar Blocks
Etee also sells concentrated plastic-free dish soap (CA/US) in its biodegradable wax-based pods. The concentrate in the pod is simply squeezed into a dispenser or jar filled with 375 ml of water to create 400 ml of liquid dish soap.
The plastic-free pods the dish soap comes in are handmade in its Toronto shop, are made with 100% plant-based ingredients and can be composted in your compost bin.
Resparkle (AU/NZ) also provides dish wash concentrate in a home compostable sachet (AU/NZ) for refilling bottles when your liquid dish soap runs out.
Solid dish soap bars also provide concentrated dish soap that can be used in bar form by scrubbing the bar with a dish brush and then scrubbing your dishes.
Find them here:
Shampoo & Conditioner Concentrates
Prefer liquid shampoo over using a shampoo bar to wash your hair? Shampoo concentrate bars or sachets are for you!
Buy it in bar or powdered form and turn it into liquid shampoo at home - no more compromise to keep the Earth and your hair clean!
On box of Ethique’s shampoo or conditioner bar makes one bottle (350g) of foamy, colour-safe liquid shampoo or conditioner using the same process as with Ethique’s other concentrates. It comes in hydrating shampoo and conditioner concentrate for normal to dry hair and gentle shampoo and conditioner concentrate for touchy scalps.
Another alternative is creating liquid shampoo using a powder, for instance Milly & Sissy’s powder shampoo refill sachet (UK/EU), which comes in home compostable packaging and can be poured into an old shampoo bottle to make new shampoo.
Check them out here:
Ethique shampoo concentrate (AU) (US/CA here)
Ethique conditioner concentrate (AU) (US/CA here)
Body Wash & Hand Wash Concentrates & Refill Sachets
Similarly, you may prefer using body wash or hand wash to using a soap bar, in which case these plastic-free body wash concentrates are the perfect solution:
Ethique hydrating bodywash concentrate flourish (AU) (US/CA here)
Etee hand soap in wax pod (CA/US)
Which do you find the best/most accessible for you? Refilling bottles you already own with cleaner at a store that offers it in bulk, DIYing your own cleaners or refilling bottles you already own at home using cleaner concentrates like the ones above?
There’s no right or wrong way to be zero waste - you need to find what works and is sustainable for you in the long run and concentrates are a very solid solution to waste free cleaning that will help many make the move away from buying new plastic bottles every time more cleaner is needed, especially for those without easy access to somewhere to refill from a bulk container of cleaner.
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