Among the various packaging options, there are plenty that are incredibly difficult to recycle due to their small size or multi-component composition. Pipettes used for many cosmetics, such as serums or oils, fall into both categories of complexity: they are small and often consist of glass, plastic, and rubber at the same time. So it’s a kind of “bingo” against recycling.

But here too, a solution has been found. It is offered by the British company Shellworks, which specializes in compostable packaging solutions. And by compostable we mean in this case precisely the conditions of home composting.

They recently introduced a dropper made from their proprietary material, Vivomer. According to the manufacturer, this material looks like plastic, has many of the properties of plastic (such as rigidity and flexibility), and is made from plant biomass. It completely self-decomposes in home composting within 52 weeks and leaves no microplastics or toxins behind.

In addition to pipettes, the company also offers other products for the cosmetics industry made from Vivomer material: 50 ml jars and 30 to 500 ml bottles.

Materials from the websites shellworks.com and packagingeurope.com were used.