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Which Kind Of Laundry Detergent Best For The Environment

I’m committed to eliminating plastics from my life.  I thought eliminating liquid laundry detergent plastic bottles would be the easiest place to start.  It’s harder than I thought.  It seems for every one thing I change or eliminate, something else takes it’s place.  While those very sturdy plastic bottles do create an environmental hazard, it’s not just the bottles that we need to eliminate.  Laundry detergent liquids, pods and sheets each have their own downside when it comes to damaging to the environment with plastic waste.

Meliora Laundry Detergent is my choice for getting clean clothes without using any plastic.  Both scented and unscented,  Meliora Laundry Detergent is packed in a compact cardboard and steel canister and costs about 17 cents per load.  That’s slightly more than a name brand liquid and much less than pods or sheets.

Eliminating liquid laundry detergent bottles is a very big step toward cutting down on landfill waste.  Due to the reduction in size and weight, there is less cost to ship and store pods or sheets, using less of Earth’s resources.  But, that comes with a cost. My limited research has found that the process of creating pods or sheets is possible due to the addition of  a plastic known as PVA, (polyvinyl alcohol).  While PVA can be fully biodegradable, specific conditions are needed for that to happen.

Laundry Detergent Liquids Pods And Sheets

I’m not a chemist or scientist of any kind but if my goal is to eliminate plastic from my life, switching to laundry pods (or dishwasher pods) is not the answer.  Laundry sheets are just as much a culprit as the pods.  I have not found any pod or sheet that does not contain PVA, a plastic.

I spent a rainy Sunday online reading about the products, and the chemicals, comparing cost along the way.  My head was spinning and I had to take a long walk to clear my thoughts afterward.

My goal is to eliminate plastic.  Therefore, the giant liquid bottles, the pods and the sheets have to go!

What’s Left?

Find an Earth friendly, effective cleaning agent in a bio-degradable container.  The first box of laundry sheets I purchased disappointed me as soon as I opened the cardboard box.  Inside were were the laundry sheets tucked safely inside a plastic box.  Immediate fail.  I moved on to other brands.  They all cleaned the clothes, they were all easy to use.  Costs varied from 25  to 53 cents per load.  Some brands calculated the number of loads per box based on a full sheet, some based it on a strip which was a half a sheet.  It can make you dizzy comparing strips to sheet to loads.

I’m going to eliminate the plastics in my laundry by stocking  up on Meliora laundry products.  Next on my plastic elimination list – shampoo!

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