About Remask and why reusable face masks

Remask is a part of Retulp Production BV. Retulp is founded with the goal to counteract disposable plastic by offering alternatives. For example, our reusable drinking bottles and thermoses ensures that less plastic ends up in the oceans.

Nowadays there is a new emerging problem: face masks. On the one hand, there is a shortage in healthcare. On the other hand, it is a new source of waste. Unfortunately, these disposable face masks often end up in nature, such as on the streets or in canals. This is causing a new mountain of waste. By offering reusable and washable mouth masks, this waste problem is counteracted. The face masks are not only good for yourself and for the planet, but also for someone else.

Disposable culture and false plastic solutions

If we want to solve the plastic crisis, we have to get rid of the throwaway culture. Still, companies with false plastic solutions maintain this culture. The real solution are packages that is refillable or reusable. Recycling, Bio plastics and paper instead of plastic are false solutions.

Many companies come up with false solutions, so that they can continue with “business as usual”.

Read more about false solutions and things that SHOULD happen.

Fake-solution: Recycling

Companies and governments invest recycling with us as THE solution. Some of the plastic waste that citizens collect separately ends up in countries such as Malaysia or – even within the EU – can end up in illegal landfills. There is hardly any recycling. Since China closed its doors to the import of waste in plastic in 2018, the problems surrounding reuse have been mounting. The main causes: the amount of plastic waste continues to increase, there is too little recycling capacity and there is no control over trade. Plastic therefore largely disappears in landfills or in the environment. The fact that something is recyclable does not mean that it is also recycled. More than 90% of all produced plastic has never been recycled. If plastic is recycled, it is usually “downcycled”. It is always converted into a product of lower quality, until it disappears in the incinerator.

Fake solution: Paper

McDonalds replacing its plastic straws, clothing stores that give you a paper bag instead of a plastic bag; more and more companies are replacing their disposable plastic products with paper. There is not nearly enough recycled paper to meet the enormous demand. And so, a lot of forest is cut worldwide for the production of packaging, tissues and toilet paper. If companies replace their plastic packaging with paper, the pressure on our forests will increase even further.

Fake solution: Bioplastic

Think of the crackling bags around the organic bell pepper that says it is compostable, or the “plant bottle” from Coca-Cola. But what exactly is bioplastic? Bioplastics are plastics made from natural raw materials, such as maize, while “ordinary” plastics are made from oil. And some of those bioplastics are compostable. But even compostable bioplastics only breaks down under the right (industrial) conditions. In nature, bioplastic behaves just like “ordinary plastic”. A turtle chokes on it just as well.

So, what should be done?

The underlying problem is our throwaway culture. We use plastic packaging for a few seconds, while it is made to last for hundreds of years. If we really want to solve this problem, we have to look differently at how we get and use products. Companies play a crucial role in this. They maintain the throwaway culture by focusing on the above false solutions. While the real solution is at hand: packaging that is refillable or reusable

Share these 8 tips!

The core values and faces of Retulp

We are driven by love for our blue-green planet. We want to protect people and the environment against pollution from single-use plastics. Full of energy we focus on results: to tackle the plastic soup at the source and to reduce single-use plastics, we inspire with attractive reusable alternatives. In our work we are guided by the following core values.

Reliable

We record agreements and keep our agreements.

Involved

We show that we are happy with our most important partners and give them great attention

Innovative

We are progressive and not afraid to make mistakes

Environmentally conscious

We strive for a world with less waste

Een bescherming voor ons maar een bedreiging voor de natuur

It is increasingly noticeable that in addition to plastic bottles, cups and cans, there are now also many plastic gloves and face masks on the street. After use, people want to get rid of the materials quickly and throw them away at places where they don’t belong, which creates a new mountain of waste.

Not only will the local wildlife be negatively impacted but all waterways, such as canals and rivers, will ultimately lead to further destruction of our vulnerable ocean.

By using reusable facemask instead of disposable variants, less waste is created, and less damage is done to nature. So, protect yourself, someone else and the planet by using a reusable face mask!

Remask is partner van: