Plastic sachets, sold as single-use, pocket-sized portions of items like shampoo and instant coffee, are a major source of pollution in many low- and middle-income countries. Environmental groups estimate 855 billion sachets are sold globally each year, with nearly half consumed in Southeast Asia; they warn the total could climb to 1.3 trillion by 2027. The sachets’ multi-layered design makes them difficult to recycle and tiny wrappers are hard for waste pickers to recover.
BreakFreeFromPlastic (BFFP), a global movement of over 13,000 organisations and individuals, ran community brand audits from October 2023 to February 2024 in 50 locations across India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Volunteers collected and documented more than 33,000 sachets traced to 2,678 different brands and found 86 per cent came from packaged food items. The audit identified large global firms such as Unilever, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble, plus regional companies named in the report. It also noted some firms burn sachets as fuel, which causes further pollution.
Campaigners, including Xuan Quach of Vietnam Zero Waste Alliance and Emma Priestland of BFFP, say companies should phase out sachets and invest in reuse systems. At global level, a March 2022 UN Environment Assembly resolution launched negotiations for a binding plastics treaty, and a Business Coalition formed in September 2022 with companies such as Unilever, Coca Cola, Kimberly-Clark and Colgate-Palmolive. National measures vary: India amended its Plastic Waste Management Rules to recognise waste pickers; the Philippines sees a return to "tingi" refill practices and zero-waste sari-sari stores; Vietnam now requires corporations to collect and recycle sachets but has limited capacity; Indonesia’s 2019 regulation aims to cut packaging waste by 30 per cent by 2029 and phase out sachets under 50ml by 2030. SciDev.Net contacted the named companies and the Philippines’ environment department but received no comments before publication.
Difficult words
- sachet — Small sealed packet for single product portion.sachets, sachets’
- single-use — Used once and then thrown away.
- pollution — Harmful substances released into the environment.
- recycle — Process of turning waste into new material.
- waste picker — Person who collects discarded items for reuse.waste pickers
- phase out — Gradually stop using or selling something.
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of phasing out single-use sachets in low- and middle-income countries?
- How could reuse systems be introduced successfully where waste collection and recycling capacity is limited? Give practical steps or examples.
- What responsibilities should global companies have versus national governments to reduce sachet pollution? Explain using details from the article.
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