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TECH NEWS
2021 Muc-Off Punk Powder 2Muc-Off reveals ‘world’s first plastic-free bike cleaner’ with 75% plant-based formula
Bicycle care specialist Muc-Off has released an “all-eco, smaller and more convenient cleaner” called Punk Powder, after developing the new 75% plant-based formula over the last three years. The British brand says it worked on over 20 variations before landing on what it claims is a winning formula for both the environment and cleaning performance.
> How to clean your bike - from a quick lick to a full makeover
The new Punk Powder consists of two 30g powder sachets, which can each be made into a litre of cleaning product by just adding water. As a result of this, the cleaner uses 92% less packaging than the equivalent two litres of regular bike cleaner, claims Muc-Off.
The formula of Punk Powder is made from readily biodegradable ingredients, says Muc-Off, 95% of which are plant-based.
“The fast-dissolving powder lets users quickly clean their machines so they can get back to the important business of riding them,” says Muc-Off.
To activate the Punk Powder, you can refill a used, washed-out Nano Tech cleaner bottle, add the powder and shake.
“Any type of water can be used providing it’s clean, offering the opportunity to clean a machine during a bikepacking adventure or after a race,” Muc-Off notes.
As Punk Powder is water-free, it’s also significantly lighter and smaller to ship around the world, which has environmental benefits.
“This is helping to dramatically reduce the brand’s CO2 impact throughout their entire global supply chain,” explains Muc-Off.
The brand has calculated that by using Punk Powder more than 61 tonnes of plastic will be saved per year.
Punk Powder is also vegan and vegetarian-friendly and has never been tested on animals.
The packaging is 100% plastic-free and petroleum-free and is made from more than 50% renewable raw materials, with vegetable-based inks used for printing.
Each sachet is also compostable and certified to EN 13432 standard and the two sachets come packed in a recycled FSC card box. This even comes with instructions for converting it into a handy funnel so no powder will go to waste, Muc-Off hopes.
Muc-Off is also selling the Punk Powder as a bundle with its new Bottle For Life for what it calls the “ultimate green-cleaning solution”.
Muc-Off describes the reusable solution as “an ultra-long-lasting aluminium bottle, complete with a non-toxic, food-grade silicone base that provides protection and stability”.
The launch of Muc-Off’s plastic-free bike cleaner follows the recent news about its new Project Green commitment to save 200 tonnes of plastic by 2023 after the brand smashed its original 30-tonne target.
Punk Powder is priced at £14.99 for two 30g sachets, while the Bottle For Life bundle is priced at £29.99.
Anna has been hooked on bikes ever since her youthful beginnings at Hillingdon Cycle Circuit. As an avid road and track racer, she reached the heady heights of a ProCyclingStats profile before leaving for university. Having now completed an MA in Multimedia Journalism, she’s hoping to add some (more successful) results. Although her greatest wish is for the broader acceptance of wearing funky cycling socks over the top of leg warmers.
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9 comments
I do like the idea of a cleaning powder mixed with water.. I'd be very surpised if this wasn't the future for most brands moving forward. I brought a muc-off concentrate refill the other week and was surprised it wasn't 'more' concentrated.. 500ml made 2000ml.
Muc-off don't mess about with pricing though twice the price of the my preferred Fenwicks cleaning product.
There are several brands offering this for household cleaners already.
Have been using them for a few years.
No plastic waste at all and far more efficient from a transportation point of view too.
"Punk Powder is also vegan and vegetarian-friendly"
are they expecting people to mistake it as an isotonic powder mix?? What will happen to the Vegan/Non-Vegan or the Vegetarian who accidently should take a sip of this freshly mixed concoction?
because vegans don't only abstain from eating animals, they also don't exploit them for other purposes.
Not quite clear what the advantage of the silicone being 'food-grade' is.
I was more intrigued by their punk powder being vegan, is non vegan bike cleaner actually a thing ? is the smell of GT85 actually created from sperm whales ambergris or something ?
I think food grade silicone holds its shape better/longer than other forms of silicone, which as its the base of this for life aluminum bottle, probably helps stop it slowly leaning to one side over time and becoming completely
unusableunstable.Quite a few detergent ingredients are non vegan/vegetarian, things like tallow, steric acid, Caprylic acid, various animal fats as carriers and surficants. while it might not be that these are as common in bike cleaners, I wouldn't be surprised if a large number of commonly used brands are non vegan.
Would you want to be using a product frequently that wasn't food grade? that could be leaching chemicals onto your skin, or harbouring bacteria more easily? While I'm pretty sure it's mostly a marketing term, and that the majority of silicone is manufactured as food grade it's still nice to know they haven't used a cheaper industrial grade product.
I suspect that claim is irrelevant. 99% of human body cleaning products in the shops aren't food grade, never mind anything for cleaning bikes, floors and so on.
Virtually all chain lubes, degreasers, greases and cleaning products contain harmful products. Some are highly toxic. None of the mainstream brands gave a shit about the environment or the effect of regular skin contact with the chemicals in their products until the last few years. Even products claiming to be 'biodegradable' can legally include up to up to 40% non-biodegradable ingredients. It's a joke.
But funnier than that is paying £15 for 2 little sachets when you can get 5 litres of genuinely biodegradable, skin- and vegan-friendly Bio-D washing up liquid for about a tenner. Hilarious.