Good quality cleaning supplies with reduced plastic footprint

May 17, 2019 11:00 AM

What reduced-plastic cleaning / soap / laundry products have you used and been happy with? I saw an ad for this company yesterday (cleaning products with cartridge refills) - it's a neat idea, but does it work? It made me wonder what reduced-plastic options you folks in the hive have used and been happy with for laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, soap, etc.

For example, we like the Method foaming soap for handwashing, and the refills come in big collapsible bags - no giant jug - so we've been using the same dispensers for like 4 years now. I hate throwing away jugs from laundry detergent, dishsoap, etc. You can buy refill jugs for cleaning solutions and they don't have the sprayer, but there's still a big plastic jug at the end. It leaves me wondering if there are better options I don't know about.

At the end of the day, though, I still want clean hands/clothes/countertops. What works for you?

posted by telepanda to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

I take my bottles back to the natural food store where they have bulk dispensers, I know this is not available to everyone. I love it, I've been using the same bottles for about 3 years.

Edited to add: I use Dr. Bronners, EShaki, Ecos
posted by Duffington at 11:09 AM on May 17, 2019

My natural food co-op has HUGE jugs to refill products from.

I use powdered Cascade Complete (cardboard box) in my dishwasher and powdered Arm & Hammer laundry detergent.

I use bar soap wrapped in paper (Kiss My Face, but there are lots of options).

I think the only other cleaning supplies I use are liquid dish detergent (yes, in plastic), vinegar (in plastic but readily available in glass), and baking soda (in cardboard).
posted by metasarah at 11:11 AM on May 17, 2019

There is a company called Dropps. They various laundry & dish detergents in pod form in a cardboard box. I've not tried them out but they are on my list for when I run out of detergent next.
posted by wwax at 11:25 AM on May 17, 2019

I’ve been happy with Soap Nuts. It’s an actual nut from a tree, which I think is pretty cool.

Also, not a recommendation, but an observation: I have been very happy with using less than the recommended amounts in any cleaning supplies. I can get much more out of a single plastic bottle that way. (And save money!)
posted by MountainDaisy at 11:58 AM on May 17, 2019

I have a bottle of this all purpose cleaning concentrate that works great on pretty much anything that isn't hurt by water. I mix it in a spray bottle with some water (I use distilled) and clean away. It lasts a long time - it's taken five years to use up about half the bottle. Bonus: the Ginger Blossom smells fabulous.
posted by DrGail at 12:12 PM on May 17, 2019

Walmart's clear hand soap refills in a bag. Cheap, and 34 ounces in a bag, so very low packaging to soap ratio. (As the package says, also parabens free, which is nice even though the evidence of parabens danger is weak.) The website says out of stock, but I've seen it in several stores in the last few months, so worth looking for if you go to Walmart.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:35 PM on May 17, 2019

I buy giant containers of dish soap and refill a smaller sink side bottle. My doctor bronners situation is the same, buy a big bottle and decant as needed into the small tub bottle. I have a gallon jug of simple green concentrate that I mix with water in a reused spray bottle.

The last mile problem is a big one for shopping. The more things you buy that get delivered individually to your home, the bigger your footprint because gas and packaging. So if you are able to transport gallon jugs I frequently, buying at a store that has lots of them already near you is good. Additionally, the kit you linked to has an empty plastic bottle displayed as part of the deal. From a poison control perspective instructions are to store cleaners in well marked bottles and don’t reuse cleaner A bottle with cleaner B.

I get the most cleaning mileage out of vinegar, which also happens to be not so bad for the environment, and pretty inexpensive. You can soak citrus peels in vinegar for added oomph and different smell.
posted by bilabial at 12:42 PM on May 17, 2019

I did the Truman's start pack and all the stuff works just as well as anything else I use. But it's so pricey that I'll probably just keep the bottles and mix my own stuff from now on. (The bottles are incredibly nice and worth the price of the starter pack!)
posted by dawkins_7 at 1:25 PM on May 17, 2019

Method laundry detergent and dish soap refills come in bags similar to the hand soap. (Though not their dishwasher tablets, sadly.) I absolutely adore the pump-action laundry detergent - less mess than any pourables or powders I've ever tried, and the pump mechanism itself is well-made and lasts for years.

Nthing vinegar and baking soda in various combinations for general-purpose cleaning, and bar soap for hand/body. Our local co-op sells bar soap with no wrapper at all, so there's not even a paper wrapper to dispose of.
posted by okayokayigive at 8:14 AM on May 18, 2019

I like Nellie’s Laundry Powder. It’s not soap but it cleans laundry very well. It is packaged in a metal tin. The plastic bag inside and plastic scoop can be reused and or recycled. I reuse the tins as sharps containers and a few other things or they can be recycled as well.
posted by FergieBelle at 2:54 PM on May 18, 2019