"The sachet was popularised across Asia primarily by Unilever in the 1980s as a way to sell food and hygiene products in smaller, more affordable quantities. But in Indonesia, they replaced existing bulk-buy, reuse and refill systems. The result is that 5.5m sachets are now sold every day just for detergent in the country, whose citizens each produce 4kg of sachet waste a year."
"The problem is that the sachets' multilayered construction of plastic and metal makes them virtually impossible to recycle. Overwhelmed waste management systems leak sachets into the environment, where they clog drains and contribute to floods."
"We find them in even remote islands in Indonesia, says Zakiyus Shadicky, senior research lead at Plastic Diet Indonesia. Unilever said that tackling plastic sachet waste is a priority for the company, and that it has so far installed more than 1,000 refill stations across Indonesia, saving an estimated six tonnes of plastic."
"But between 60% and 70% of textiles are manufactured from synthetic fibres such as polyester. This becomes a problem when it ends up in unmanaged landfills, where it can take hundreds of years to decompose, leaching microplastics into the soil and waterways, thereby becoming a serious environmental threat."
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