Reducing plastic consumption is one of the most effective ways to tackle plastic pollution. That’s why, here at The Optimist Daily, we love hearing about solutions tackling the plastic problem at the source.

The latest we’ve come across was developed by UK startup Spruce. Its solution to plastic waste consists of aluminum bottles of cleaning products that can be purchased once and reused multiple times thanks to plastic-free dehydrated refills.

As part of their first buy, customers receive a durable bottle made of metal and a trigger spray pump. Customers can then continue to use it with the brand’s refills, enabling them to get plastic out of the equation when buying their cleaning products.

Spruce’s refills come in sachets made of compostable material. Users empty the contents into the reusable bottle and add water to create 500 milliliters of cleaning liquid. Customers can either purchase one-off refill packs of three or get a recurring subscription service.

“For the compostable refill packs, we are using a paper material with a very thin layer of plant-based bioplastic, all from responsible sources,” Spruce founder Mahira Kalim told Dezeen. Each plastic-free packet can be cut up and added to the food waste or compost bin, where it then biodegrades within 14 days under ambient conditions.

Since the refills are relatively lightweight, they also require significantly less energy to transport, making them even more sustainable than the standard bottle of cleaning product. And to further reduce their carbon footprint, all the packaging and ingredients are sourced from within the European Union.

Of the whopping 8.3 billion metric tons of virgin plastic ever produced, only 9 percent has been recycled, according to this 2017 study. Since then, recycling rates have barely increased, only underlining the importance of reuse solution like that of Spruce.