Tag: BusinessWaste.co.uk

Millions of makeup wipes piled as high as the Eiffel Tower going to landfills every day


Time to clean up our makeup habits

We’re flushing away or binning an astonishing 11 billion wet wipes every year which can take up to 100 years to biodegrade.

BusinessWaste.co.uk, waste management specialists, are concerned about the volume of waste being created by the number of makeup wipes and says that women and men across their country need to change their ways.

“Makeup wipes are the quickest and cheapest way to remove makeup on the market, but this doesn’t mean they’re the best option for the environment,” says Mark Hall, company spokesman.

But as global sales of all wet wipes are set to hit £16 billion by 2021, it’s time to scrub away our nations unhealthy habits of using makeup wipes, he says.

Time to clean up

We all know that using makeup wipes is bad for the environment, but because they’re an incredibly convenient way to remove makeup, it’s easy to convince yourself that one wipe a day won’t cause too much damage.

Millions of consumers rely on makeup wipes as they promise to wash away the day in seconds using just one product, making them cost effective and a low maintenance part of their daily routines.

But despite the plush cotton feel makeup wipes have on your face, they actually contain a mix of plastic fibres such as polyester and polypropylene which prevent them from biodegrading.

BusinessWaste.co.uk warns that they break down into micro-plastics and smaller fibres which will end up polluting the oceans and entering the food chain.

“With such a high number of wipes being used, there’s a lot of single-use plastic coming into the world,” says spokesperson Mark Hall, “the only way to prevent this happening is to stop using them.”

To add to the damage, makeup wipes and other wet wipes are not recyclable, meaning that the only way they can be properly disposed of is to put them into your rubbish bin.

“For heavens sake do not flush makeup wipes down the toilet,” warns Mark Hall, “you’ll only break your toilet and block up the sewers. You don’t want poo flooding your bathroom, do you?”

“I know it’s hard to get hold of toilet paper at the moment, but this is not the answer.”

With 9.3 million wet wipes being flushed down the loo every day, they account for a staggering 93% of all sewer blockages, and makeup wipes are a big contribution to this problem.

BusinessWaste.co.uk explain that flushing anything other than toilet paper down the loo could add to ‘fatbergs’ in the sewers, which are caused by a build-up of fat and non-biodegradable materials such as wet wipes, which can lead to sewers blocking or overflowing.

Fortunately, several brands are leading the way, such as high street store Holland & Barrett pledging to remove all wet wipes from their stores***, and brand Huggies aiming to remove all plastics from their wipes in the next five years.****

“Thank god people are taking action, otherwise our entire planet is going to be covered in a layer of makeup wipes,” says Hall, “imagine a squishy wet wipe mush underfoot everywhere you go. Yuck.”

What alternatives are there?

With many people knowing that makeup wipes are bad news for the environment, alternative ways to remove makeup are becoming increasingly popular, so why isn’t everyone is making the change?

“I’ll admit, I buy the cheap makeup wipes from the supermarket, but then I end up using 4 instead of 1,” says shopper Heidi in Lancaster, “but I still think it’s cheaper than whatever else is out there.”

Makeup wipes can cost as little as a pound for a pack, whereas plastic free alternatives can cost ten times that, so it’s easy to see why people are finding it hard to make the switch.

We’ve put together a list of inexpensive alternatives to help people cut down on makeup wipe use.

  • Try one of the many cleansers such as micellar water available on the market with a flannel, a bottle can last for ages, and the flannel is washable
  • Invest in a washable makeup remover cloth which only needs to be run under a tap before use. It can be chucked in your washing machine when you’ve used it, which over time will be much cheaper than restocking on makeup wipes
  • Use a gentle soap and some water and little bit of arm power
  • Stop wearing makeup every day, saves on wipes and saves you money! This is the ideal lockdown solution

Ultimately, we need to get people to realise that makeup wipes are a single-use plastic, like carrier bags and straws, says company spokesman Mark Hall.

“If people can take their own bags to the supermarket, then they can wipe out the wet wipe.”

Councils to spend millions picking up face mask litter

But would YOU pick up a discarded face mask?

Face masks are highly effective in reducing the chances of catching and spreading Covid-19, however, inconsiderate litterbugs are leaving their soiled goods all over the place.  

This problem has become so overwhelming that local councils will spend around £20,000-100,000 of council tax payers’ money per area to clear up littered face masks.

Waste collection specialists BusinessWaste.co.uk have seen this problem first-hand, and are urging people to make sure that face masks are binned correctly and not just dumped in the street.

“Wearing a face mask has allowed us to keep safe this year, and it’s fantastic how many people have adapted to regularly wearing one,” says Mark Hall, spokeseperson for BusinessWaste.co.uk “But would you pick up somebody else’s used mask?

“If people were as passionate about binning them properly as they are about wearing them in the shops, it would be much better for our environment and save our local councils time and money.”

The big problem

BusinessWaste.co.uk have previously reported that 50 million face masks are going to landfill each day across the UK, with face mask litter killing wildlife and ending up in our oceans.

But in our most populated areas, this problem has reached a boiling point.

More people mean more masks being used and littered, which is why local councils up and down the country are pledging combined millions to try and put a stop to this problem.

Hall: “We are incredibly grateful to the council’s for designating the money to help clean up this mess, but if people were able to stop littering their disposable masks it wouldn’t have had to come to such expensive measures.

“It’s a waste of money that could have gone towards more positive projects in the local area’s, but instead it’s being used to clean up borderline hazardous waste.”

So just how many masks are we talking about?

According to the latest report by the Office For National Statistics, 97% of people use a face covering when outside of their home.

And based on a recent survey, 51% of those wearing face coverings were using single-use masks.

Using these recent statistics, as well as looking at the current population size, Mark Hall at BusinessWaste.co.uk has estimated that 49%, of the total population, are using single-use masks.

Mark Hall went on: “If we assume these people are using a new mask each day, one a day for five days a week, that is a lot of masks and a lot of waste.

“Unless people make the switch to reusable masks, then we have to find simple and effective ways for people to dispose of these masks that won’t damage the environment.”

Time to properly dispose of masks  

When BusinessWaste.co.uk asked 1,000 people if they would pick up a discarded facemask, 99% said no.

The most common response for leaving littered face mask, was not wanting to touch something they feared would be contaminated with Covid-19.

Mark Hall again: “It’s perfectly understandable that people wouldn’t want to pick up discarded masks on the street, especially when we’ve had the importance of hygiene drilled into us all year.

“It just highlights that we need to tackle the problem at the source, stopping masks from being littered rather than requiring people to go around picking them up.”

The simplest answer would be to install pop-up PPE bins, which BusinessWaste.co.uk suggested earlier in the year. 

These bins would make it easier for people to dispose of masks while out and about, whilst also following government guidelines about separating personal waste from general waste.

Mark Hall concluded: “PPE bins are the best chance we’ve got to protect both people and the planet from the effects of this pandemic, while keeping our streets free from face mask litter.

“Without them, towns and cities around the UK will see local councils spending a small fortune clearing up after this mess.”