SC Johnson rolls out 100% rPET Mr Muscle Platinum glass cleaner

01 Jul 2020 --- As part of a bid to help address ocean plastic pollution, SC Johnson, a manufacturer of household cleaning brands, has unveiled its newest line of Mr Muscle Platinum Window & Glass cleaner featuring 100 percent recycled plastic bottles. The eco-centric offering is part of SC Johnson’s global partnership with Plastic Bank to reduce the amount of plastic waste entering the ocean, while also helping to alleviate poverty. The bottles are an everyday offering available in the UK and Ireland, and marketed as the first of their kind in the UK.

“The Mr Muscle bottles are made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) ocean-bound PET collected by Plastic Bank. This plastic waste is collected within 30 miles of an ocean or waterway in countries that lack effective, formal waste collection. Last year, we announced a three-year partnership with Plastic Bank to establish 509 plastic collection points across several countries including Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam – four of the five countries that contribute most to ocean plastic – and Brazil,” a spokesperson of SC Johnson tells PackagingInsights.

Plastic Bank plans to collect 15,000 metric tons of plastic waste per year that might otherwise have ended up in the ocean. This recycling eco-system offers collectors a premium for the plastic they collect, which further helps them afford household necessities.

The new line of Mr Muscle Platinum Window & Glass ocean-bound plastic bottles are now available from Wilko and Amazon, and will be rolling out to more stores in the coming months. Mr Muscle joins the company’s Windex brand in the US featuring 100 percent recycled plastic in its trigger bottles.

“We are working to steadily increase the use of PCR plastic in our products and remove excess plastics wherever possible,” notes the company spokesperson, highlighting the following developments:

• SC Johnson removed more than 1.7 million kg of plastic from its primary packaging during fiscal year 2018/19.

• The company’s aim is to triple the amount of PCR plastic content in its packaging by 2025, including Mr Muscle and other SC Johnson products.

• SC Johnson expanded its concentrated refill offerings in 2019 on e-commerce platforms like Amazon to greatly increase access to the products and introduce them to other international markets.

The incorporation of recycled PET (rPET) is growingly ubiquitous. Last month, alcoholic beverage giant Diageo North America launched 100 percent recycled rPET bottles for its Seagram’s 7 Crown American whiskey brand across all formats (1.75 L, 750 ml, 375 ml and 200 ml). Diageo expects to achieve a reduction in virgin plastic of almost 1000 metric tons annually – the equivalent to removing 100 million 500 ml plastic bottles from shelves.

In the same month, Essentra Tapes unveiled an “industry-first” 70 percent rPET tear tape for flexible packaging that boasts easy-opening and brand enhancement opportunities. Like all Essentra tear tape solutions, the single ply 23-micron SupaStrip PCR film is easy to implement within flexible packaging lines, while the ability to print the tape allows for a diverse range of brand messages and logos to enhance on-shelf impact and consumer interaction.

By Benjamin Ferrer