Brisbane based Australian home & personal care company Tirtyl has pledged to collect five million plastic bottles in 2022 which would otherwise find their way in the ocean.
In partnership with Plastic Bank, Tirtyl will collect one ocean-bound plastic bottle for every tab sold, and 10 plastic bottles for every dispenser. Donations are made to locals in developing communities in the form of wages to collect, sort and process plastic waste which mostly originates from beaches and riverbanks.
A similar campaign in 2021 was well supported with the collection of one million plastic bottles. This was double the original goal set for the project. Based on the achievement, Tirtyl is confident of achieving the ambitious target set this year.
In a report commissioned by conservation group WWF-Australia and prepared by Boston Consulting Group in 2020, it was estimated that about 600 million empty plastic bottles are leaked into the environment each year.
The report went on to explain that the six most common types of single-use plastics were plastic bottles, disposable foodware, soft crunchable plastics, microplastics, plastic containers, and disposable packaging.
To put this into perspective, WWF-Australia suggests that every year the combined weight of single-use plastics released into the environment is estimated to equal the weight of two Titanic ships.
If that isn’t enough cause for concern, an Economic Forum study made a startling prediction that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the world's oceans.
It can take up to 400 years for plastic to completely biodegrade in saltwater. However plastic breaks down into tiny particles called microplastics which are ingested by marine life. This often causes malnutrition and creates physical barriers that affect the organs and other bodily functions leading to starvation and death.
Sea turtles consume twice as much plastic today compared to 25 years ago. A worldwide study found that around 100,000 seabirds and sea turtles are killed as a result of plastic in our oceans each year.
Aside from plastic consumption, entanglement is another cause for concern. Turtles and large fish can get entangled in waste plastic, preventing them from swimming freely which leads to drowning.
Crustaceans and small fish seeking shelter find their way into plastic bottles and get trapped inside. Plastic bottles are mostly translucent and fish and marine life aren’t able to locate the mouth of the bottle after entering it.
Almost all the plastic ever produced still exists in some form on the planet. Global plastic production is estimated to exceed 300 million tons.
By 2050, the human population is expected to increase to almost 10 billion people and plastic production is expected to triple. Only a fraction of this plastic will be recycled and the rest will clog the sea and land.
The barriers to manufacturer and procure plastic are low and there is limited government regulation to prevent crisis from getting worse. There is an urgent need to rethink the entire plastic manufacturing, distribution and consumption system in order to control plastic pollution.
Tirtyl has played a pivotal role in making the earth a better place for our future generations through its mission of making conscious consumption mainstream.
Founders Lachlan and May believe that conscious consumption should be effortless if it is to reach mainstream adoption. Tirtyl’s products make it easy to switch to a cleaner, greener way of using soap. All Tirtyl products and accessories are environmentally friendly, cruelty-free, vegan-friendly and come in plastic-free packaging.
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The company builds better supply chains through detailed life-cycle assessment (LCA) and ethical sourcing. Tirtyl also donates up to 2% of sales to important social causes through their Tirtyl Tip Foundation. If those interested would like more information about this topic, please email them at hello@tirtyl.com.au.