SC Johnson Makes the Case for Reuse: A Big Reduction in Plastic Waste

It’s reported that a million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute of every day. If those bottles are single-use — and worse yet if they aren’t recycled — that can lead to a tremendous amount of plastic waste.

That’s why SC Johnson has long championed concentrated refills, starting nearly a decade ago with a Windex® concentrate pouch sold from our website. Since then, we’ve changed to easily recyclable mini bottles and expanded the brands available to include Scrubbing Bubbles®, Mr Muscle® and others.

In 2019, we took the next step, launching our concentrates on Amazon.com and other online retailers to make them accessible to more people. They’re now rolling out internationally to Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, China and Japan.

SC Johnson’s concentrated refills come in small, easy-to-pour bottles made of HDPE — the same commonly recycled packaging as a milk jug. Consumers simply refill their trigger bottle with tap water and one bottle of concentrate. A provided label helps identify what’s in the bottle for future use.

The reusable bottle extends the lifespan of the plastic further than a one-time use product, keeping additional plastic out of the waste stream.

SC Johnson trigger bottles are designed to deliver more than 10,000 sprays, meaning they can be refilled and reused dozens of times. Importantly, refilling a full-size bottle instead of buying a new trigger bottle cuts plastic waste by nearly 80 percent.

Over time, by reusing bottles with such a long lifespan, millions of pounds of plastic waste can be stopped from ending up in the waste stream.

As part of SC Johnson’s plastic reduction commitment, we are working to expand the number of concentrated refill options for our products by 2025. We intend to keep broadening the variety of refill options to enable consumers to reuse packaging and reduce waste. 

See other progress on our commitments here.