Blog Post

Best Eco-Friendly & Plastic Free Dishwasher Tablets

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Zero Wasted • April 1, 2022

Looking for eco-friendly dishwasher tablets free from plastic waste? Our list provides you with the best places to buy from in the UK. But before we jump in, is using a dishwasher actually eco-friendly?

A common question is whether using a dishwasher is more eco-friendly than washing up by hand. In fact, a dishwasher will actually save you far more energy and water compared to hand washing dishes:

Save Tons of Water

Using a dishwasher uses about 10 gallons of water per loads compared vs 27 gallons to clean the same amount in the sink.

Skip the pre-rinse

Don't waste all the water you're saving by rinsing everything beforehand - your dishwasher can handle it. Just give the plates a good scrape.

Load up and use eco settings

Get the most out of each wash by stacking your dishwasher fully and where possible using your economy or eco setting to save on energy.

Two squirrels are playing with a pile of dishes in a generation gif

What are dishwasher tablets wrapped in?

Plastic free dishwasher tablets that have a water-soluble film (which all listed below have apart from the dishwasher powder) are encased in Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH, PVA, or PVAl) which is a water-soluble synthetic material. It is demonstrated to be 100% readily biodegradable against OECD standards (The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development). Lots of scientific papers that have looked into this show that PVOH is not a contributor to microplastics such as this paper on Biodegradability of Polyvinyl Alcohol Based Film Used for Liquid Detergent Capsules.

Though some brands are looking to move away from PVOH in the future (once a solution can be found), at the moment 'naked' tab wrapping for this kind of product causes lots of wastage in the manufacturing process and a much shorter product shelf life which leads to more resource usage, so this is the best alternative vs. them being individually wrapped in plastic.

You don't need to unwrap these type of tablets as the casing will dissolve as the dishwasher runs its cycle.

Best Plastic Free Dishwasher Tablets

Making sense of dishwasher powder ingredients

For those that like to dig deep, we've compiled a table showing the ingredients their function and safety for each dishwasher tablet:

Ingredient	What is it?	Impact	Smol	Homethings	MACK	Fiil Refill Co	OceanSaver	Greenscents
Sodium Carbonate	Common washing soda, a natural water softener	Low environmental impact	🟢	🟢	🟢	🟢	🟢	🟠
Sodium Citrate	Derived from citrus fruits, used to soften water	Biodegradable, low toxicity	🟢	🟢	🟢	🟢	🟠	🟢
Sodium Chloride	Regular table salt	Low environmental impact	🟠	🟢	🟠	🟢	🟠	🟢
Citric Acid	Derived from citrus fruits, used to soften water	Biodegradable, low toxicity	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟢
Sodium Carbonate Peroxide	A combo of washing soda and hydrogen peroxide for bleaching	Breaks down safely, low toxicity	🟢	🟢	🟢	🟢	🟢	🟠
Sodium Bicarbonate	Baking soda, used for cleaning and deodorizing	Biodegradable, low toxicity	🟠	🟠	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟢
Sodium Silicate	Liquid glass, used to protect metals and surfaces	Moderate environmental impact	🟢	🟢	🟢	🟢	🟠	🟠
Sodium Disilicate	A type of liquid glass used in cleaning products	Moderate environmental impact	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟢	🟠
Citric Acid Monohydrate	Citrus-based natural preservative and flavoring	Biodegradable, low toxicity	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟢	🟠
Sodium Sulfate	Salt used as a filler in products	Low environmental impact	🟢	🟠	🟢	🟢	🟠	🟠
Sodium Gluconate	Odourless non-corrosive salt used to soften water	Non toxic, biodegradable and renewable	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟢
Subtilisin	A cleaning enzyme from bacteria	Biodegradable, allergenic	🟢	🟢	🟢	🟠	🟢	🟠
Amylase	Starch-breaking enzyme used in cleaners	Biodegradable, allergenic	🟢	🟢	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟠
Protease	Enzyme that breaks down proteins in stains	Biodegradable, allergenic	🟠	🟠	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟠
Trisodium Dicarboxymethyl Alaninate	A compound to prevent metal stains in water	Biodegradable, low toxicity	🟢	🟠	🟢	🟢	🟠	🟠
Acrylic Copolymer	Plastic-like material to prevent spots on dishes	Low environmental impact	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠
Fatty Alcohol Alkoxylate	A cleaning and foaming agent from fatty alcohol	Biodegradable, low toxicity	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠
Tetrasodium Etidronate	Synthetic agent to soften water	Low environmental impact	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠
Water	Plain water	Non-toxic, no impact	🟢	🟠	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟠
TAED	A bleach booster in detergents	Biodegradable, low toxicity	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠
PEG-75	A type of soft, waxy substance used in cosmetics	Biodegradable, low toxicity	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠
Benzotriazole	A chemical used to prevent corrosion	Toxic to aquatic life	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠
Zinc Acetate	Zinc salt used for its antibacterial properties	Low toxicity	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠
Perfume	Blend of fragrances for scent	Variable impact, potential allergen	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠
Essential Oils	Concentrated plant oils for fragrance	Biodegradable, potential allergen	🟠	🟢	🟠	🟢	🟠	🟢
Manganese Catalyst	A helper ingredient in bleach for stains	Low environmental impact	🟢	🟠	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟠
Granulation excipient	Filler material used in tablet making	Low environmental impact	🟠	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠
Isotridecanol, (ethoxylated)	Cleaning agent made from alcohol	Biodegradable, low toxicity	🟠	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟠	🟠
Alcohols (C16-18, ethoxylated)	Cleaning agents from alcohol	Biodegradable, low toxicity	🟠	🟢	🟠	🟠	🟢	🟠

So that's our ultimate list of the best dishwasher tablets (and powder). If there's a great product we haven't featured please let us know by dropping us a message.

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