GB2449126A

GB2449126A - Water soluble hygiene product

Info

Publication number: GB2449126A
Application number: GB0709148A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Rachael Jayne Pearson; Ainsley Jane Rees; John Short
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-05-11
Filing date: 2007-05-11
Publication date: 2008-11-12
Also published as: GB0709148D0

Abstract

A personal hygiene product comprising a container 1 holding one or more personal hygiene items 4, wherein said container 1 and at least one or more sections of said items 4 are of water dissolvable plastics material, and wherein said container 1 comprises a discrete compartment separately holding water dissolvable cleansing compositions 5.

Description

PERSONAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS

The present invention relates to novel personal hygiene products and in particular to such products that can be readily disposed of both quickly via and without burden on the sewerage system.

The products comprise packaged personal hygiene items such as tampons and cotton buds and so forth, as well as the items themselves and their containers. They comprise at least one section of water-dissolvable plastics material that is readily disposable in, for example, toilet or bath water.

Whilst use of water-dissolvable plastics materials is known in the context of clothes washing applications such as detergent tablets (for containing conditioners and so forth) and washing bags, they have not previously been used for providing sections for manipulating personal hygiene implements or for their packaging.

Two billion personal hygiene products enter UK sewage systems each year. Many of these products contain considerable amounts of plastics, and few use sustainable materials. The plastics material of, for example, cotton buds and tampon applicators pose serious problems for sewage systems, since current items tend to pass through the available filters and eventually get stuck in the intricate downstream machinery. When filtering does occur, the material is generally disposed of by non-environmentally friendly methods such as landfill.

As an indication of the scale of the problem, it has been estimated that over 6 tonnes of plastics material is typically flushed into the UK sewerage system everyday.

It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide comparatively environmentally friendly personal hygiene products that are easy to use and that can be subsequently disposed of conveniently, quickly and without undue burden on the sewerage system.

Thus, according to one aspect of the present invention, a personal hygiene product is provided as claimed in claim 1.

All plastics material of the product of the present invention, including their packaging breaks down in the presence of water. By choosing specific, environmentally friendly materials, they break down into harmless components, for example carbon dioxide and water. Thus the present invention provides a way in which potentially hazardous and environmentally harmful personal hygiene products can be disposed of with greater ease and safety.

According to a second aspect, the present invention provides a personal hygiene item as claimed in claim 3.

When the item is a tampon, its plastic applicator and its protective plastic sachet can be flushed after use down the toilet. Similar disposal is equally possible for other items such as cotton buds, toothpaste tubes, flossing sticks and other zo personal hygiene items that comprise plastic sections, particularly when these sections are provided to aid manipulation.

According to a third aspect, the present invention provides a container as claimed in claim 14 for containing the above-mentioned items to provide suitable packaging for inclusion in the product of the invention as claimed in claim 1.

When such a container is empty it can be placed in bath water allowing it to dissolve together with its bath salts, thus providing the consumer with a soothing, relaxing and cleansing bath following the use of previously packaged hygiene items.

The specific type of plastics material used is chosen so that typically it can dissolve in less than 5 minutes. In this way, the invention provides dissolvable hygiene products and items that can effectively disappear within the sewerage system.

Additional features are mentioned in the accompanying subsidiary claims.

The present invention will now be described with reference to the following non-limiting examples as illustrated further in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1A shows a personal hygiene product according to one embodiment of the present invention comprising a container and a number of personal hygiene items both according to further embodiments; Figure lB depicts a schematic view of the container of the present invention as shown in Figure 1A without its lid; Figure 2A and Figure 2B illustrate two embodiments of the personal hygiene item of the present invention being a tampon with applicator and cotton bud respectively; and Figure 3 is a schematic flow diagram showing use of certain embodiments of the products and items of the invention.

In Figures 1A and lB a product of the present invention is shown comprising a container 1 having a lid 2 and a base 3 that can contain the personal hygiene items 4 of the invention. The base 3 has a further compartment, in this example on the bottom of its structure, which contains materials, such as bath salts 5, that can dissolve in water to provide a cleansing or soothing solution for washing.

Naturally, the further compartment can be located alternatively such as in the side waIls of the base 3, and/or in part of the lid 2, and so forth.

Preferably, the bath salts 5 are scented and/or contain essential oils.

The container 1 is manufactured of a water-soluble plastic that can dissolve relatively quickly when immersed in water.

Preferably, the plastic of the container 1 is composed of a copolymer and in particular a copolymer of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) and polyvinyl acetate (PVA).

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the copolymer comprises about 96% PVOH and about 4% PVA. When these two polymers are present in these approximate proportions, the plastic so formed requires a relatively higher temperature of water, typically above 300C, before it dissolves. Thus, it is particularly suited to dissolving in heated water such as heated bath water.

When submerged in water, the above-mentioned plastic copolymers break down relatively quickly into two easily disposable components: carbon dioxide and water.

They are non-irritant to consumers' skin and non-toxic.

Thus, if desired, the container 1 can be disposed of in (see Figure 3) a hot bath 13 rather than less convenient and less waste-friendly methods. At the same time, the bath salts 5 and so forth, contained in the separate compartment of the container 1 are released into the heated bath water 14 to provide a cleansing and soothing bath for the consumer to enjoy. This opportunity can coincide with the completion of the menstrual period, that is when the container previously contained tampons, or completion or partial completion of any other episodes requiring the hygienic attention afforded by using any other of the personal hygiene items 4 of the invention.

Two (merely illustrative) examples of the personal hygiene items 4 that can be stored in the container 1, a tampon 6 with applicator 7 and a cotton bud 8, are shown in Figures 2A and 2B respectively. Both the applicator 7 and the shaft 9 of the cotton bud 8 are also composed of a water-soluble plastic, as are their individual wrappers or sachets 11.

When toilet 12 flushed (see Figure 3), the cotton buds 8, tampon applicators 7 and their individual sachets 11 also dissolve completely and well before the dispelled water enters the filtration apparatus of the downstream sewerage processing system.

The plastic of the outer sachets 11. is of a film form so that it can be extremely wear resistant and can therefore act as a reliably protective and hygienic barrier. Such jo film can, for example, be manufactured by extrusion.

The plastics of the applicators 7 and cotton bud shafts 9 are not of film form, but of a more solid structure such that, preferably, they can be manufactured by injection moulding.

The plastic shaft 9 that holds and supports the cotton bud ends 10 can optionally have a curved shape. This aids its manipulation and encourages thorough cleaning of, whilst avoiding internal damage to, the ears.

The tampons 6 and cotton bud ends themselves are manufactured of the non-plastic materials usually used within the field and, as such, dissolve in water less readily than the water soluble polymers used for the containers 1, applicators 7, cotton bud shafts 9 and so forth.

The plastics used for the films of the sachet 11 and for that of the applicators 7, cotton bud shafts 9 and so forth are chosen to dissolve even in cold or tepid water, such as (see Figure 3) toilet 12 water.

Again, copolymers are preferred, particularly those combining PVOH and PVA.

Particularly preferred compositions comprise 88% PVOH and 12% PVA.

The water solubility of all of the above-mentioned copolymer plastics is such that, during use, the products (1,4,5) and items 4 that they form do not disintegrate in the presence of modest water contact. Instead complete immersion and agitation (and/or optionally heat in the case of the container 1) is required before dissolving occurs. Some softening of the plastic structures can occur in the presence of relatively substantial, non-immersion exposure to water, but nevertheless disintegration does not occur.

Thus, in use, the hygienic items 4 and their packaging containers 1 are robust, but when no longer required they can be (see Figure 3) either flushed down a toilet 12 or dissolved in heated bath water 14 respectively. The waste water 16 in which they are dissolved is in due course carried along sewerage pipes 15.

In conclusion, the present invention provides products in the field of personal hygiene that can be more readily disposed of in a simple and quick fashion without presenting difficulties for downstream sewage processing and water purification systems.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A personal hygiene product comprising a container holding

one or more personal hygiene item(s), wherein said container and at least one or more s section(s) of said item(s) are of water- dissolvable plastics material, and wherein said container comprises a discrete compartment separately holding water-dissolvable cleansing compositions.
2. The product of claim 1, wherein the cleansing compositions include bath salts, essential oils and/or additional scents.
3. A personal hygiene item comprising at least one or more section(s) of water-dissolvable plastics material.
4. The product or item as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the water-dissolvable plastics material comprises a copolymer of polyvinyl alcohol and polyvinyl acetate.
5. The product or item as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the plastics material of the one or more section(s) of said items provides at least one site for gripping and manipulating the item in use.
6. The product or item as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the item is a tampon with applicator, or a cotton bud, flossing tool or toothpaste holder.
7. The product or item as claimed in claim 6, wherein either the applicator or a shaft of the cotton bud comprises the water dissolvable plastics material.
8. The product or item as claimed in claim 7, wherein the plastics material is injection mouldable.
9. The product or item as claimed in any one of claims 6-8, wherein the cotton bud has a curved shaft.
10. The product or item as claimed in any one of claims 6-8, wherein the tampon before use is enclosed in a sachet composed of a film of the water dissolvable plastics material.
11. The product or item as claimed in claim 10, wherein the film is extrudable.
12. The product or item as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the plastics material is dissolvable in unheated lavatory water.
13. The product or item as claimed in any of claims 3-12, wherein the plastics material is composed of a copolymer of 88% or less polyvinyl alcohol and 12% or more polyvinyl acetate.
14. A container for holding one or more personal hygiene item(s), wherein said container is constructed of water-dissolvable plastics material, and wherein said container comprises a discrete compartment separately holding water-dissolvable cleansing compositions.
15. The container as claimed in claim 14, wherein the cleansing compositions include bath salts, essential oils and/or additional scents.
16. The container as claimed in either claim 14 or 15, wherein the water-dissolvable plastics material comprises a copolymer of polyvinyl alcohol and polyvinyl acetate.
17. The container as claimed in any of claims 14-16, wherein the water-dissolvable plastics material is dissolvable in heated bath water.
18. The container as claimed in any of claims 14-16, wherein the temperature of the heated bath water is 300C or more.
19. The container as claimed in any of claims 14-16, wherein the plastics material is composed of a copolymer of 96 /o or more poly vinyl alcohol and 4% or less poly vinyl acetate.
20. A product, item or container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and/or as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.