L’ali's World

+gRRRR minimalism: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Eco volunteer Refuse Reduce Reuse Recycle Кръговият процес лали Николай лазаров

Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

What

What is an ecological footprint?

The ecological footprint measures the stress humans place on nature. This tool estimates the surface productivity needed by the population to meet its resource consumption (food, heating, building materials, clean air, drinking water) and its waste disposal needs. Globally, the ecological footprint is 2.2 hectares per person, which equates to 20,000 m2. For every ton (2,200 pounds) of consumer products produced, five tons of waste are created. As the global population grows and society becomes more hectic, the demand and production of more convenient, easy-to-use products increases. This demand, combined with globalization and trade liberalization, has translated into consumption patterns that impact the Earth’s ability to clean itself. In Europe, packaging represents 36% of solid household waste.

L‘ali’s circular process

How

How do we achieve it?

We formulate our products to improve the overall health of your skin and with the well-being of the environment (the Earth) in mind. When we choose ingredients for our cosmetic products, we check the origin and production method of each one. We hold our suppliers responsible not only for the quality of the raw materials, but also for their sustainability and renewability.
 
✓ All our formulas are created with at least 99% natural ingredients, of plant origin – meaning they are renewable (areas can be replanted) and biodegradable (degrade in the environment without further treatment).
✓ We do not test our products on animals and require our suppliers to follow the same principles.

Every year, the cosmetics industry produces over 120 billion packages worldwide and 70% end up in landfills or the environment. 95% of cosmetic packaging is thrown away after just one use and only 14% of plastic reaches recycling plants. By comparison, depending on the country, nearly 80% of glass bottles are collected for recycling. Approximately 17 liters of water are used to produce 1 kg of paper. A cardboard box, as a secondary packaging, weighs on average about 20 g, which wastes nearly 340 ml of water per unit. With these figures in mind, we at L‘ali have chosen to look for better alternatives and use plastic packaging only when absolutely necessary and offer our products “naked“, i.e. without completely unnecessary cardboard packaging!

✓ No unnecessary packaging
✓ 91%* of our products do not have secondary cardboard packaging
*the remaining 9% are our three-component FRESH products
✓ 61% of the primary packaging of our products is made of glass
✓ 18% of the primary packaging of our products is made of paper
✓ With each “naked” product, nearly 340ml of water is saved
✓ By choosing glass instead of plastic packaging, the carbon footprint is reduced by up to 70%.

The most commonly used packaging for product delivery is the plastic bag. For the production of 1 disposable bag (10g), an average of 1.67 g of CO2 is released. In comparison, when producing the same bag from paper, the amount of CO2 is reduced by 93%.

✓ No plastic bags. When we ship our products, we only use paper bags and cardboard boxes made from recycled material.
✓ On average, 1.55 g of CO2 emissions are saved when using paper instead of plastic bag.
✓ Approximately 630 ml of water is saved when using a paper instead of a plastic bag.
Glass packaging can practically be recycled an indefinite number of times, and its standard reuse cycle is usually 25 to 30 times. Currently, most waste management systems prioritize recycling as the main method of reducing the amount of waste that will go to landfill, which in terms of circular economy strategies is considered as one of the last management options once it has been established that the product (or parts of it) can no longer be reused, diverted, reworked or reintroduced into the production line. Reuse avoids the need to extract resources and reduces energy consumption compared to manufacturing new products and recycling.
 
A comparison between reusable glass bottles and single-use glass bottles showed the most significant reduction in CO2 emissions of all the packaging studied. In fact, single-use glass has the largest overall impact of any other packaging material. 40% of the emissions associated with glass production are reduced after reusing a bottle two or three times. A reusable glass bottle reduces emissions by 85% (for a full cycle) compared to a single-use glass bottle, 70% compared to single-use PET and 57% compared to single-use aluminum.
 

Why

Why should we recycle?

✓ Preserves valuable natural resources by minimizing forestry and mining activities;
✓ Saves huge amounts of water;
✓ Reduces energy needs during production;
✓ Reduces air, water and soil pollution during raw material extraction and waste disposal (landfills, incineration);
✓ Favors the preservation and protection of the environment and ecosystems;
✓ Reduces pollution (each ton of recycled materials saves 2.8 tons of greenhouse gases);
✓ Recycling a glass bottle saves enough energy to power a computer for 30 minutes.
✓ 1 ton of recycled glass saves 42 kWh of energy, 0.12 barrels of oil, 1.5 m3 of landfill space and 3.5 kg of air pollutants.
✓ By recycling paper, air pollution can be reduced by 74% and water pollution by 35%.

It takes 4,000 years for a glass bottle to break down into its constituent elements when thrown into nature. That’s why it’s a good idea to recycle glass. It s is even more important because making new glass requires a lot of energy: the basic mixture of sand, sodium carbonate and lime has to be heated to between 1500°C and 1600°C. Recycling brown, green or clear glass leads up to 30% energy savings. By recycling just one bottle, you save enough energy to power a 100-watt light bulb for four hours! Recycling glass requires 50% less water, causes 20% less air pollution and creates 80% less waste than making glass from scratch! Glass can be recycled endlessly without losing its properties and quality.
 
A sheet of recycled paper uses 25-45% less energy than a sheet made from virgin fibers, saving 15 grams of wood and 1 liter of water. Recycling one ton of waste paper corresponds to 11 to 24 trees, depending on their size and nature. In practice, recycling a pile of newspapers one meter high saves one tree. And the benefits are even greater: 74% reduction in air pollution and 35% less water pollution. A sheet of paper can only be recycled about seven times because the fibers become shorter and more fragile during the recycling process.
 
Plastics are made from petroleum or natural gas – non-renewable and polluting resources. Plastic is therefore not a biodegradable organic material. 120,000 pieces of plastic drift on every km2 in the ocean, killing over a million seabirds, 100,000 marine mammals and an infinite amount of fish each year. In addition to saving petroleum (700 kg of crude oil per 1 ton of recycled plastic), recycling plastics saves significant energy (57-75%) and a lot of water (2500 liters per 1 ton of recycled plastic).
 
All the paper and plastic packaging we use can be recycled.

Who

This is an editorial prepared especially for you by L‘ali. 
All rights reserved!

Containers and Packaging: Product-Specific Data, EPA, USA
Hutchinson, M., 2007, Vos déchets et vous. Un guide pour comprendre et agir, Éditions MuliMondes
J.-L. Bourdages, 1993, Paper recycling in Canada : a new reality
Aaron Dormer, Donal P. Finn, Patrick Ward, John Cullen, Carbon footprint analysis in plastics manufacturing, Journal of Cleaner Production,Volume 51, 2013
Patricia M. Coelho, Blanca Corona, REUSABLE VS SINGLE-USE PACKAGING, A review of environmental impacts, Utrecht University, RELOOP PLATFORM & ZERO WASTE EUROPE November 2020
Samantha Staley, The Link Between Plastic Use and Climate Change: Nitty-gritty, 2009, Stanford Magazine
How much do you save in carbon emissions by being a Good Energy customer?, Good Energy Group PLC
The Hidden Water in Everyday Products, https://www.watercalculator.org/footprint/the-hidden-water-in-everyday-products/ 
Photo: wayhomestudio

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *