Malaysia ranks second in Asia (behind the Philippines) for annual per capita plastics use, as stated by WWF for Nature in a 2019 study.

Malaysia aims to phase out single-use plastics products by 2030, and we only have less than eight years to achieve this goal. By looking at the current situation, we must work extremely hard. It's good to see some organizations are switching to using biodegradable and recyclable plastic packaging. However, these packagings are still plastics and will become micro-plastics if not recycled and reused in later years.

Introducing Malaysia's first refillery vending machine for household cleaning products.

EcoVend is a zero-waste solution company based in KL that has two key products; Bubbles machine and Zeffort cleaning products.

"Our approach is 100% zero-waste which means we are cutting out single-use plastics point-blank using the Bubbles machines. Users only have to reuse their bottles and refill them from the Bubbles machine," says Don Low, Founder of EcoVend. "We start saving plastics from household cleaning products. One machine can dispense eight products; instant gel sanitizer, handwash liquid, dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, fabric softener, floor cleaner, glass cleaner, and toilet bowl cleaner by Zeffort brand. We've saved more than 1,000 plastics since Feb 2022, and the numbers will only grow at a compounding rate," he added.

Zeffort is a high-quality homegrown cleaning product brand made in Malaysia that uses biodegradable, 100% plastic-free packaging, and 100% zero-waste. "Zeffort can offer high-quality products while maintaining competitive price because they are packaging & labeling-free. It has a low operating cost, and there is no retail listing fee too," Don explained.

Expand to more locations and states to save more plastics.

All six machines are currently located in Klang Valley, and according to Don, they have received many requests from plastic-free and zero-waste product supporters to place the Bubbles machines across Malaysia. Still, Bubbles is a new and self-funded company, which means they have limited funds to expand to more locations in quickly. "We want to use the power of people, and we urge more like-minded people who share the belief that we can make a change together in this country," he shared.

EcoVend is launching an investment package for people who want to invest in green and sustainable businesses. "The total investment cost is RM20,693 which includes a Bubbles machine (RM18,188), a 2-month operation deposit (RM580), and working capital (RM1,925). To make the investment plan more accessible, we allow a maximum of three people to co-share the investment at 0% interest for 6-12 months installment," he shared.

He also said that the market size for the household care segment is projected to reach RM 609.84 million in 2022. How much revenue and profit a machine can generate depends mainly on the location and time. "Unlike drinks and snacks vending machines, a refillery vending machine concept is new, and it may take a longer time to get a return, but it is here to stay, and we will continue to save plastics daily. We strongly believe Malaysians are genuinely environmentally friendly, and given an option, they would want to save plastics for a better future," he explained.

Moving on, he hopes brands will join the zero-waste movement to offer their products through refillery concept on their own or through Bubbles machines. By far, the refillery is the best solution to stop single-use plastics. We've seen some global brands testing out the refillery and zero-waste concepts in the UK, India, Indonesia, Australia, Mexico, Pakistan, and locally. EcoVend is open to investment opportunities to expand Bubbles and Zeffort to more states and countries.