A new, greener way of home cleaning that uses considerably less plastic is being launched this week.   UK retailer Tesco shoppers will be able to buy refills for cleaning sprays that could help save up to 60 million pieces of plastic a year.

The six Retail Brand spray bottles can be reused many times by topping them up with dissolvable capsules which are mixed with tap water to make a new cleaning solution.

Included in the new range will be the following:

• Anti Bac Multi-Purpose Surface Cleanser Original
• Anti Bac Multi-Purpose Surface Cleanser Apple
• Anti Bac Kitchen Surface cleaner
• Anti Bac Bathroom Surface cleaner
• Daily Shower cleaner
• Window & Glass cleaner

Shoppers looking for more sustainable ways to shop can refill existing sprays with concentrates that also offer a cheaper alternative to repurchasing a conventional spray bottle.

Cleaning sprays are made of a couple of plastic components – the spray and the bottle. If Tesco shoppers moved to use the new Tesco private brand concentrated solutions rather than other own-brand or branded products, over 60 million pieces of plastic will be removed from sale each year.

UK households use over 70 million cleaning sprays every year – more than 140 million pieces of plastic.

Tesco cleaning product buyer Michael Williment said: “Refillable cleaning products should prove to be popular with our customers.  

“Not only are they better for the planet – they clean to the same high standard, are easy to use and cheaper than buying a new spray bottle each time.” 

Tesco is tackling the impact of plastic waste through its 4Rs strategy – to remove packaging where they can, reduce it where they can’t, reuse more and recycle what’s left.

Since the inception of the strategy in 2019, Tesco has removed a billion pieces of plastic from its UK business, and aims to remove a further half a billion this year.

Tesco has additionally reduced the materials used each year in its packaging by more than 2500 tonnes and recently launched reusable packaging service Loop in ten stores and new soft plastic recycling facilities across all large stores.

Each spray cost 80p and the refills are 70p.