8 to 10 billion coat hangers are sold every year worldwide. Enough to fill four 102 storey skyscrapers, from top to bottom.
Only 15% of these hangers are recycled..
(Source: Greenprogress.com, July 2008)
Why so few? Even though, in theory, coat hangers can be recycled, in practise this is rarely the case.
Let's take the example of plastic hangers. Although generally made from polystyrene and polycarbonates, they may be manufactured using up to 5 different plastics, which are often of poor quality. Separating out these different types of plastic in a recycling plant is a very difficult – and sometimes impossible – task.
As for metal hangers, handling these is difficult as they often block the mechanisms used in recycling plants. The problem is such that some municipal recycling centres are now refusing outright to treat this type of waste.
As a result, tons of non biodegradable metal and plastic are sent to landfill sites where they will take up to 800 years to be broken down, leaving toxic residues in their wake.
This is why coat hanger manufacture and disposal is a significant environmental issue, even though, until now, the problem has received little press.
greenhookTM has been conceived with the aim of offering a solution to this problem. What we offer is an friendly alternative for professionals and domestic users who wish to reduce their impact on the environment, or who wish to take their eco responsible behaviour one step further.
greenhookTM is a cardboard coat hanger. It’s 100% recyclable and biodegradable.
greenhookTM made its first public appearance at the colette store in Paris on June 1st 2009 in the MeWeCycle exhibition, in advance of its official launch on 5 June, World Environment Day.
