Consumables

New packaging for toilet cleaners: less plastic and higher recycled content

Tuesday 09. February 2021 - The proportion of recycled polyethylene (PE) in the packaging of toilet cleaner gels has been significantly increased - to 50 percent for toilet cleaners in the standard range, for example from the Biff brand, and even to 75 percent for toilet cleaners from the Pro Nature range.

With a new global packaging concept for toilet cleaner bottles, Henkel underlines its commitment to sustainable packaging and the promotion of a circular economy.
These are recycled plastics from end-user households. “It is an important step for us that we have been able to increase the share of recycled PE in our toilet cleaners so significantly. After all, the availability of high-quality recycled material of this plastic is still limited,” explains Ulf Timmann, Head of Global Packaging Innovation Toilet Care & Hard Surface Cleaning. “The success is at the same time an incentive. Our goal is to continue to significantly increase the share of recycled material.”
The new packaging concept not only uses more recycled material, but also less plastic overall. This reduces the weight of the bottles by an average of 11 per cent. This packaging innovation saves 480,000 kg of virgin plastic annually. This corresponds to a saving of 800 tonnes of CO2 per year. Thanks to the compact bottle design, a good 10 percent more bottles fit on a transport pallet. In addition to the increased use of recycled material, this has a positive effect on the ecological footprint, because it also saves CO2 during transport.
With the new packaging concept, Henkel has introduced a uniform, global bottle body design for toilet cleaners. All bottles are now available in a uniform format and rely on polyethylene as the material. The products have been on sale since January 2021.
Concrete goals for sustainable packaging and climate protection
The new toilet cleaner bottle thus contributes to Henkel achieving its ambitious packaging targets. For example, the company wants to reduce the proportion of new plastics from fossil sources in its consumer goods packaging by 50 percent by 2025. To achieve this, Henkel will increase the share of recycled plastic to more than 30 percent by 2025, reduce the absolute volume of plastic and increasingly use bio-based plastics. In addition, 100 percent of Henkel packaging is to be recyclable or reusable**. Sustainable packaging solutions also contribute to Henkel’s climate protection goals. By 2040, Henkel wants to be a climate-positive company.