Reuse Ecover containers for refills

Filed in Reuse by on May 15, 2009 13 Comments
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Reuse plastic Ecover bottlesEcover refills are a great way to save plastic packaging ending up in landfill. There are refill stations all around the UK with more being added all the time.

In the UK, we throw away over 400 tonnes of plastic bottles into landfill every year. Plastic hangs around for hundreds of years before degrading.

Fortunately, Ecover sell over 91,000 litres of refill each year, saving tonnes of plastic from ending up in the rubbish bin.

You can currently get refills for

  • Washing up liquid
  • Fabric Conditioner
  • Laundry Liquid
  • Multi-Surface Cleaner
  • Toilet Cleaner

Find your nearest Ecover refill station here and help keep plastic out of the landfill.

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About the Author ()

I am a long time supporter of the Green and Sustainable lifestyle. After being caught in the Boscastle floods in 2004, our family begun a journey to respect and promote the importance of Earth's fragile ecosystem, that focussed on reducing waste. Inspired by the beauty and resourcefulness of this wonderful planet, I have published numerous magazine articles on green issues and the author of four books.

Comments (13)

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  1. greenlady42 says:

    Hooray for the refills ! I’ll just bore everyone again by telling them about my now 4 and a half year old fabric conditioner bottle and still going strong ! just think how many plastic bottles that’s kept out of the landfill. Also have a year old washing up liquid bottle – the problem there is that the hinge on the caps break.

  2. John Costigane says:

    Ecover refill systems are ace, Mrs Green. Reduce is a big part with plastic bottles vastly diminished. I use a single plastic bottle for the day to day dish washing. A non-plastic replacement for this would be longer lasting.

  3. Mrs Green says:

    @greenlady42: πŸ˜€ You know you can’t bore us with such stories, Greenlady; it does feel good, doesn’t it? And you’re right; imagine how many bottles you’ve kept out of the landfill in all that time.

    @John Costigane: Glad you’re liking the refills John. A non-plastic replacement would be good; I’m not sure what that might be though. Any ideas?

  4. greenlady42 says:

    well yes exactly, although I am not a fan of many forms of plastic, I think if it has to exist as a container, lets make use of its toughness and refill the bugger time after time after time… and again I make the point that shops and customers should be moving slowly but inexorably towards the old fashioned type of shopping where things were wrapped up in sustainable materials and you also took your own containers to be refilled for many things !

  5. Mrs Green says:

    Hi Greenlady, I hear you.
    Since the site overhaul, I’ve had a couple of people mention to me that they read about the ‘take your own reusable container’ idea and hadn’t thought of it, but they were going to start doing it. So you never know who is going to watch what you are doing and start doing the same πŸ™‚

  6. Peter says:

    At risk of sending anyone to our currently ‘sensitive’ site (post new upgrade), for where refills are not an option ecover a while ago added all their products to http://www.junkk.com (check Ideas under ‘E’) and even got some students to kickstart some reuse ideas.

  7. Mrs Green says:

    Fab ideas – thanks Peter; there are so many to choose from!

  8. Rob Whittle, NAIL2 says:

    All

    Of interest, Good clip, this month,

    Effecorta Lucca,Tuscany

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roiC2b_RTqk

    Rob

  9. Mrs Green says:

    @Rob Whittle, NAIL2: How inspiring! Thanks so much Rob – everyone should watch this, take note and learn!

  10. Helen Baker says:

    I have looked into this earlier in the year and there are two places near me that refill Ecover products, the problem is I can buy a new carton of Ecover laundry liquid for Β£4.49 at the supermarket and it costs between Β£5 and Β£6 to refill it a refill station. Great idea but it needs to be cost effective. I have thought about buying in bulk and filling myself its just the issue of storing the bulk items.

  11. Mrs Green says:

    @Helen Baker: Hi Helen, how annoying for you. Our refill station is an absolute bargain. Buying in bulk is cost effective, but like you say you need storage. Are there friends you could buy with?

  12. Mrs C says:

    I know this is an old post that I’m commenting on, but I’m having exactly the same problem as @Helen Baker with the cost of refills. So much so that I’ve blogged about it here: http://mrsc.typepad.co.uk/being_mrs_c/2011/03/it-costs-how-much.html

    Would be very interested to hear if others are suffering the same problems.

    Mrs C x

  13. Mrs Green says:

    @Mrs C: Hi Mrs C, well that did seem a lot from your post! Over here it was definitely Β£1 cheaper last time I bought it, so well worth it…

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