The environmental group, A Plastic Planet have called for a ban on single-use sample sachets in the beauty industry.
Professional Beauty reports that A Plastic Planet have written an open letter to UK and EU officials, which asks lawmakers to add “single-serve sachets” to the single-use plastics ban, which already includes stirrers, plastic straws and cotton buds”.
The letter states that “sachets used by the personal care sector to package moisturiser, shower gel, face wipes, shampoo and more creates 122 billion items of waste ever year”.
“We’ve seen governments across the world crow about bans on single-use plastics, but the sample sachet is a huge piece of the pollution puzzle which every one of them is missing,” said Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet.
The hundreds of billions of sample sachets pumped out by the personal and home care industries each year are used to drive instant sales will pollute the planet for centuries.
With solutions readily available, there is no excuse for inaction. Any ban on single-use plastics must cover sample sachets to stamp them out once and for all.”
A Plastic Planet reports that the use of plastic sachets across industries is predicted to reach one trillion by 2030, with most not being able to be recycled. This means that they end up in landfill, where it can take up to 1,000 years for the plastic to decompose.
Find out more about A Plastic Planet here.
