From the beach to the bath: “World’s first” shampoo bottles with recycled ocean plastic to launch

Procter & Gamble (P&G) has announced a new shampoo bottle made from recycled beach plastic.

Bottles for Head and Shoulders, the world’s leading shampoo, will be made from 25 per cent beach plastic.

P&G teamed up with TerraCycle and Suez to start its longest ever production run of bottles made with post-consumer recycled beach plastic. The shampoo will be sold in France, at Carrefour supermarkets.

Plastic will be collected by volunteers on French beaches, though the plan will require a supply of 2,600 tonnes of recycled plastic every year.

Virginie Helias, P&G Vice President of Global Sustainability, said: “At P&G, we believe the increased use of post-consumer recycled plastic across our hair care portfolio of brands, demonstrates our continued commitment to driving real change.”

“The Head & Shoulders recyclable shampoo bottle made with beach plastic is a world’s first in the hair care category. Increasing the use of recycled plastic in the packaging of our flagship brands, like Pantene and Head & Shoulders, makes it easier for consumers to choose more sustainable products, without any trade-offs.”

P&G plans to double the level of recycled plastic in its packaging by 2020.

Jean-Marc Boursier, Senior Executive for Recycling at Suez, said: “This partnership between Suez, TerraCycle and P&G represents an exciting step in the creation of a recyclable shampoo bottle made of beach plastics. We hope that other organisations will continue to partner with different providers to deliver major environmental changes in this industry. With nine dedicated plastic facilities across Europe, Suez is already producing 170,000 tonnes of high quality recycled polymers.”