Whether you use large volumes or just a few canisters/bottles per year, every single-use plastic bottle is too many.
On average, a Finn generates 130 kg of packaging waste annually, of which about 19% is plastic. This equals roughly 25 kg of plastic per person per year.
For companies and public sector organizations, plastic consumption specifically from cleaning products rises to much higher levels.
In our calculation example, the operator spends around €26,000/year on cleaning products. We calculated their single-use plastic consumption when using conventional cleaning products packaged in plastic canisters and bottles for facility cleaning and maintenance.
ANNUAL PLASTIC AMOUNT
- A 1L bottle contains approx. 40–60 g of plastic
- A 5L canister contains approx. 150–250 g of plastic
- On average, plastic packaging waste represents 4–7% of the purchase cost of cleaning products by weight (source: industry procurement data, SFS-EN 1276 / waste management calculations).
- Taking a conservative average:
5% of purchase cost = single-use plastic weight
€26,000 × 0.05 = 1,300 kg = 1.3 tonnes of single-use plastic per year
Comparison with Dilute® Pro products
One sachet weighs approx. 6 g and replaces one 750 ml cleaning bottle or 5L ready-to-use solution (for machines or manual mopping).
= No plastic, no packaging waste (the paper sachet dissolves in water).
Plastic saved: 1,300 kg of plastic = 65 large trash bags
Let’s also look at CO₂e
The life-cycle emission factor (cradle-to-shelf) of HDPE plastic is on average 2.5 kg CO₂e per 1 kg of HDPE plastic (source: Climatiq.io).
Using the traditional system:
- Mid-range estimate: 1,300 kg of plastic/year
→ 1,300 × 2.5 = 3,250 kg CO₂e/year - Maximum estimate: 2,080 kg of plastic/year
→ 2,080 × 2.5 = 5,200 kg CO₂e/year
With the Dilute® system:
- Reusable bottles: 1.5 kg plastic/year → 1.5 × 2.5 = 3.75 kg CO₂e/year
- Cleaning sachets: fully plastic-free → 0 kg CO₂e
We haven’t yet included the CO₂ emissions (or cost) from transporting water and heavier packaging. That’s a topic for our next blog post. 😊
Sources :
https://ourworldindata.org/ghg-emissions-plastics?
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S092134492200009X
https://www.climatiq.io/data/emission-factor/3010a769-fdd1-4646-88b5-de73dbaa99b0
Share:
Nettonolla tavoite ja kuinka Dilute® Pro pienentää päästöjäsi joka tasolla
How do you combine sustainability and competitiveness in cleaning services?