In an effort to lessen damage to marine life, households purchasing washing up liquid are being advised to make a crucial shift.
Washing liquid is typically sold in plastic bottles, which add to the millions of bottles that are used in UK homes each year, but packaging is not the only issue. Experts have pointed out that every time you wash dishes, the liquid's ingredients alongside its plastic vessel endanger the environment.
Home cleaning experts say washing liquid contains surfactants that come from fossil fuels and can damage aquatic life each time the sink is drained.
According to Sustainable Lazy, a eco-friendly parenting blog, surfactants discharge contaminants into streams that endanger wildlife. The experts told the Express: “Mainstream brands use fossil fuel-derived surfactants, many of which end up in rivers and harm aquatic life.”
The detrimental effects of home surfactants on marine life have also been brought to light by a study that was published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology.
The study says: “The use of surfactants in households and industries is inevitable and so is their discharge into the environment, especially into the water bodies as effluents. Being surface-active agents, their utilization is mostly seen in soaps, detergents, personal care products, emulsifiers, wetting agents, etc.”
It also reveals that “Surfactants are capable of penetrating the cell membrane and thus cause toxicity to living organisms. Accumulation of these compounds has been known to cause significant gill damage and loss of sight in fish.”
There are plenty of alternative washing up liquid brands UK households can opt for.
Look at companies like, Ecover, Bio-D, Method, and Greenscents for better, more environmentally friendly cleaning solutions.
Some even provide refill choices to reduce plastic waste, and they frequently employ natural and eco-friendly components.
Labels such as “vegan”, “organic” and “palm oil free” are also important to further guarantee sustainability.
Ecover also urged customers in March to consider the environmental impact of continuously purchasing washing-up liquid in plastic bottles, and instead opt for buying refillable washing-up liquid products that are sold in recyclable packaging.
The company said in a statement at the time: “In 2016, less than half of all plastic bottles were collected for recycling and only 7 per cent of those were turned into new bottles. The resulting impact on waterways and marine life is, to put it bluntly, horrifying – with an estimated 12.7 million tonnes ending up in oceans each year.”
In the UK, the company has established over 700 refill stations where customers can stock up on toilet cleaner, laundry detergent, and dishwashing liquid without worrying about adding to the plastic waste problem. Additionally, Ecover has promised to completely discontinue utilising virgin plastic in its packaging.
