Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 25th April 2024 Issue no. 1111
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Together for a plastic-free future: cleaning up Bosnia & Herzegovina waterways
According to the latest projections, the plastic waste mass in our oceans is threatening to quadruple by 2050 with alarming consequences for humans and animals alike. This finding is part of a recently published WWF review which provides the latest analysis of the extent of plastic pollution in oceans.
WWF makes it unmistakably clear that it is more important than ever to act now. Grohe, a leading global brand for complete washroom solutions, is intensifying its own plastic prevention endeavours. Launched in 2018, Grohe's ‘Less Plastic’ initiative includes offering plastic saving product solutions, eliminating unnecessary plastic from its product packaging and supporting innovative clean-up technologies to preserve the environment for future generations.
When it comes to the protection of natural water sources, Grohe believes in a synergy of individual and organisational responsibility. Together with the German environmental nongovernmental organisation, everwave2, and its high-tech ‘CollectiX’ garbage-collecting boat, the brand collected a total of 30 tons of waste from the Bočac Reservoir in Bosnia and Herzegovina throughout February 2022 - this equals the weight of over one million 1.5l PET-bottles.
Equipped with technology to analyse the composition of the waste, the boat frees the water from various plastic packaging and other objects that have a negative impact on our fragile ecosystems. The goal now is to close the loop within our linear economy and get as much material as possible back into use.
This clean-up activity is a direct result of Grohe's ‘Made for your water’ campaign in which the company pledged to collect one kilo of waste from European waters for every Grohe Blue purchased between 1st August and 31st December 2021 in the EMENA region.
Buyers were given the opportunity to make a direct contribution towards a cleaner environment while eliminating single-use plastic bottles from their own everyday life - without compromising on comfort or convenience. The innovative water system offers filtered, chilled, still, medium, or sparkling water straight from the tap. Once installed, GROHE Blue can significantly reduce future plastic consumption, saving a family of four up to 800 single-use plastic bottles a year.
"Being able to make a difference and play a part in global sustainability efforts is becoming more and more important for people everywhere," says Jonas Brennwald, Leader LIXIL EMENA and Co-CEO Grohe AG. "It is not enough to prevent future plastic pollution alone, but we as a company and as a brand must do our part in restoring fragile ecosystems already affected by existing plastic waste. The plastic crisis is a problem that can only be tackled together, so we are particularly thankful for our strong partnership with everwave and the trust consumers put in our products."
The recent clean-up activity is only one cornerstone of Grohe's longstanding collaboration with everwave, an organisation that uses innovative clean-up technologies to collect plastic waste from rivers and lakes before it enters the oceans. Together they are committed to driving education to highlight the severe impact plastic waste is having on ecosystems and to motivate us all to pursue a plastic- free lifestyle.
Clemens Feigl, CEO & co-founder of everwave, says:
"We are proud to have a partner in Grohe that shares our vision of a better, plastic-free future and with whom we can raise awareness for the prevailing plastic crisis and drive concrete action. We are looking forward to many more projects to come."
21st April 2022