The end of plastic? Procter & Gamble launch tiny liquid-free pads that 'froth up' in water and could replace bottles of shampoo, gel, detergent and toilet cleaners

  • The tiny, waterless, cubes turn into products like shampoo, soap or face wash 
  • It was created by the firm behind major brands including Ariel, Pantene and Olay
  • Environmentally friendly range will span personal care to products for the home
  • It is expected to officially launch towards the end of the year

By Victoria Bell For Mailonline

Published: 11:21 EST, 16 January 2019 | Updated: 08:50 EST, 18 January 2019

Cosmetics brand Procter & Gamble (P&G) have vowed to ‘end the plastic waste crisis' by launching a range of small liquid-free pads.  

The company has created piece of material that dissolves in the user's hand when water is added and turns into shampoo or face wash.

According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, the environmentally friendly range will span from personal care to products for the home.

P&G, which owns well known household brands such as Ariel, Pantene and Olay, is expected to launch officially towards the end of the year.

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Cosmetics brand Procter & Gamble has vowed to ‘end the plastic waste crisis' by launching a range of small liquid-free pads. The company has created piece of material that dissolves in the user's hand when water is added and turns into shampoo or face wash

Cosmetics brand Procter & Gamble has vowed to ‘end the plastic waste crisis' by launching a range of small liquid-free pads. The company has created piece of material that dissolves in the user's hand when water is added and turns into shampoo or face wash

They have formed an alliance with other companies to fight plastic waste, pledging to spend $1.5 billion (£1.5 billion) over the next five years.

The funds will be spent on waste collection infrastructure mainly in Africa and Asia, on technology for recycling and re-use of waste. 

Amid rising consumer concern over plastic waste, other consumer goods heavyweights have individually pledged to reduce waste.

Heinz, Nestle, Unilever and Henkel claim that they aim to make their packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.  

Amid rising consumer concern over plastic waste, other consumer goods heavyweights have individually pledged to reduce waste. Heinz, Nestle, Unilever and Henkel claim that they aim to make their packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025

Amid rising consumer concern over plastic waste, other consumer goods heavyweights have individually pledged to reduce waste. Heinz, Nestle, Unilever and Henkel claim that they aim to make their packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025

IHS Markit, global information provider, said in October that 59 per cent of global plastic waste comes from packaging.

Only 10 per cent of the plastic he got through in a year would be recycled, with just four per cent recycled at UK recycling facilities and the rest exported.  

Procter & Gamble and Henkel are currently the only branded consumer goods makers among the Alliance to End Plastic Waste members but a spokesman said more would likely join over the next few weeks.

HOW DO MICROPLASTICS GET INTO THE OCEANS FROM RIVERS?

Urban flooding is causing microplastics to be flushed into our oceans even faster than thought, according to scientists looking at pollution in rivers.

Waterways in Greater Manchester are now so heavily contaminated by microplastics that particles are found in every sample - including even the smallest streams.

This pollution is a major contributor to contamination in the oceans, researchers found as part of the first detailed catchment-wide study anywhere in the world.

This debris - including microbeads and microfibres - are toxic to ecosystems.

Scientists tested 40 sites around Manchester and found every waterway contained these small toxic particles.

Microplastics are very small pieces of plastic debris including microbeads, microfibres and plastic fragments.

It has long been known they enter river systems from multiple sources including industrial effluent, storm water drains and domestic wastewater.

However, although around 90 per cent of microplastic contamination in the oceans is thought to originate from land, not much is known about their movements.

Most rivers examined had around 517,000 plastic particles per square metre, according to researchers from the University of Manchester who carried out the detailed study.

Following a period of major flooding, the researchers re-sampled at all of the sites.

They found levels of contamination had fallen at the majority of them, and the flooding had removed about 70 per cent of the microplastics stored on the river beds.

This demonstrates that flood events can transfer large quantities of microplastics from urban river to the oceans.

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Liquid-free pads that 'froth up' in water to replace plastic bottles

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