Plastic-free cleaning on a budget
Keep one good spray bottle, refill it with concentrate, and swap plastic sponges for natural scrubbers.
By PlasticFreeHome Research Team · Reviewed by Khalid · Updated 26 September 2026 · 1 min read
Keep one good spray bottle and refill it, and swap sponges for natural scrubbers. Plastic-free cleaning is usually cheaper, not dearer.
Sponges and scourers
Plastic sponges wear down against the plates you eat from. Cellulose, loofah and coconut fibre scrubbers do the job and compost at the end. See plastic sponges → natural scrubbers.
Sprays
Most cleaning sprays are water in a plastic bottle. A glass bottle and concentrates cut the bottle and the cost. See single-use sprays → refill.
Washing up
A solid dish soap bar and a wooden brush replace the bottle and the sponge together. See washing-up liquid → dish bar.
Safety
Never mix vinegar or ammonia with bleach. Label every refilled bottle.
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Top swaps in cleaning
Plastic sponges and scourers → natural scrubbers
Scouring plastic against dishes wears it into fragments. Natural scrubbers compost at the end.
High priority · about 250 g of plastic a year
Washing-up liquid bottles → dish soap bar or refill
A dish soap bar and a wooden brush replace the bottle entirely.
Worth doing · about 400 g of plastic a year
Single-use cleaning sprays → refillable bottle and concentrate
Keep one good bottle and refill it. Concentrates cut packaging and cost.
Worth doing · about 1.0 kg of plastic a year