The Procter & Gamble (P&G) Company today launched the Fairy Ocean Plastic bottle made completely from post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic and ocean plastic. The launch of the bottle aims to raise awareness of the issue of ocean plastic and what can be done to prevent plastic waste from reaching the ocean.
The first-ever Fairy Ocean Plastic Bottle has been created in partnership with recycling expert TerraCycle and will reach British consumers in 2018. The UK launch will include 320,000 bottles, the largest production run of recyclable dish soap bottles in the world made using ocean plastic.
The bottle will be made from 10% ocean plastic, collected from the ocean and beaches around the world, and 90% post-consumer recycled plastic.
“Our consumers care deeply about this issue and by using ocean plastic we hope to show that the opportunities are endless when we rethink our approach to waste.’’
The project aims to drive awareness of the issue of ocean plastic pollution, inspire consumers to physically participate in beach clean-ups and recycle household waste.
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) 95% of the value of plastic packaging material, worth $80-120 billion annually, is lost to the economy and on the current track, there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean (by weight) by 2050.
In an effort to divert plastic waste from landfill and the ocean, P&G brands, including Fairy, Dawn, Yes, Dreft and Joy, will continue to divert 8,000 metric tonnes of plastic from landfill for use in transparent plastic bottles, using an average of 40% Post-Consumer Recycled plastic content across 481 million of our transparent dish care bottles globally. If stacked, these bottles would be 11 times the height of Mount Everest.
Virginie Helias, Vice President of Global Sustainability at Procter & Gamble comments: “As the world’s no. 1 dishwashing liquid globally and a much-loved brand in the UK, we want to use Fairy to raise awareness about the plight of our ocean and raise awareness about the importance of recycling.
“Our consumers care deeply about this issue and by using ocean plastic we hope to show that the opportunities are endless when we rethink our approach to waste.’’
Tom Szaky, the CEO of TerraCycle: ‘’We are proud to be working with an iconic brand like Fairy to launch a fully recyclable bottle made from 100% recycled plastic and ocean plastic.
“The issue of ocean pollution is a pertinent one, we hope other brands will be inspired to think creatively about waste and make the circular economy a reality.’’
