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The humble kitchen sponge is a household essential, particularly if you don’t have a dishwasher, or regularly hand-wash more delicate items like non-stick pans and knives. They work hard to cut through grease and grime every day, meaning it doesn’t take long for a fresh sponge to start looking tatty and ready for the bin.
But getting through a sponge every couple of weeks isn’t exactly great for the environment. And even popping them on the top rack of the dishwasher for a refresh doesn’t prolong their lifespan by much. So, I did some digging about what kind of impact this simple habit is actually having…
Are kitchen sponges made from plastic?
In a word, yes. Most kitchen sponges are synthetic and made from plastics, which aren’t biodegradable.
This means we’re getting through a lot of single-use plastic in our quest for clean dishes. In fact, according to eco-cleaning brands Smol and Composty, around 400 million sponges are thrown away every year in the UK. On top of that, Seep’s cleaning survey found that people in the UK change their sponge once every month, meaning that UK households could be throwing away up to 600 million sponges a year.
Luckily, there are more eco-friendly alternatives to the classic yellow and green washing up sponge. These are made from materials like wood pulp cellulose and loofah, which are plastic free, will biodegrade and can even go in your compost or food waste bin at home when you’re done.
To see if they’re up to scratch, I decided to put them to the test and recruited some help from the Good Housekeeping Institute experts to give their professional verdict.
Are eco sponges worth it?
I swapped out my classic scrubber for Seep’s Sponge Scourers. They’re made from plants rather than plastics and, in my opinion, have a more aesthetically pleasing cream design.
As well as the biodegradability credentials already mentioned, they may be better for our waterways, too, as studies show that traditional sponges shed microplastics when we’re cleaning. By swapping to a plastic-free sponge, you can help to reduce the amount of tiny plastic particles making their way from our homes into our bodies and natural ecosystems.
The benefits of an eco-friendly washing up sponge don’t end there, either. Plastic free sponges are typically longer lasting, as they’re designed to clean pots and pans for up to two months, helping you to reduce waste and save money on cleaning products, too. A win-win (just remember to clean them regularly)!
I definitely found this to be true during testing – I’d say they lasted approximately twice as long as my regular sponges, and I used less soap as the plastic-free sponge was better at retaining the washing-up liquid.
Another thing that stood out to me was the brand’s extra environmental efforts. Seep is a B Corp, a certification given to companies that have a more positive impact on the environment, their workforces, customers and the communities in which they operate. How this is achieved varies by company, but Seep has a range of initiatives, including offsetting its carbon footprint through a partnership with reforestation charity, On A Mission.
Of course, a company’s environmental efforts don’t necessarily equate to a good product. While Seep’s Sponge Scourers are expensive (£9.50 for four) compared with traditional sponges, I appreciated the high-quality design and overall performance when it came to tackling my pile of dirty dishes. Plus, it was reassuring to know that I could freshen up my sponge by popping it in the washing machine and, eventually, throw it away without generating more plastic waste.
So, I'm definitely a convert. But don’t just take my word for it. If you’re thinking about making the switch to an eco-friendly washing up sponge, check out our expert’s Tried and Tested verdict below.
The GHI verdict on eco cleaning sponges
While it would be nice to swap everything for a more eco alternative, if the product doesn’t work effectively, it can feel like even more of a waste. That’s why our experts at the GHI love to test more eco products to see whether the swap is actually worth it.
In the lab, our experts tested the absorbency of each plastic-free sponge, before assessing how well they cleaned plates smeared with grease and foods including spinach, dried cereal and egg yolk. They also washed wine-stained glasses, cutlery and tea-stained mugs to make sure they stood up against everyday usage.
Next, they tested them against burnt food residue on Pyrex and saucepans to see how much scrubbing was needed to get them sparkling again. Finally, we put each plastic free sponge in the washing machine to see if it emerged refreshed and kept its shape.
While this was going on, we also sent the eco-friendly washing-up sponges out to our panel of testers to see if they stood up to the task of day-to-day cleaning.
We tested three sponges: the Composty All-in-One Loofah Scourer Sponges, the SEEP Eco Sponge Scourer and the Re:gn Compostable Kitchen Sponges – but how did they fare? The results are in.
Composty’s sponges scored an impressive 89/100 with our testers, who found them durable and well-made. They were malleable enough to get into crevices or tight spaces, and were impressive when removing grease, clearing all residue with little effort needed. Plus, the sponge remained soapy for a full 12 plates, helping us save on washing-up liquid.
Burnt-on stains weren’t a problem, either. Testers only scrubbed a little to lift the residue off Pyrex dishes, and they appreciated how quickly it cleaned burnt egg from stainless steel pans. Burnt rice was a little trickier, but that’s to be expected – a soak and some good scrubbing did the job.
Coming in just behind Composty, SEEP’s Eco Sponge Scourer scored a very reasonable 85/100. It performed best when taking on a four-piece place setting; it cleaned glassware and cutlery with ease, leaving it stain-free and shiny. Most of our plates were left spotless, too, with just the odd small speck remaining after rinsing.
Even with tasks such as removing burnt jam, lifting dried cereal and cleaning up grease, the sponge impressed, and just a single wipe was needed to banish dried spinach. On the downside, we did notice that the loofah side suffered against burnt-on rice stains – it was left looking worn and stained – but just pop it in the washing machine to give it a freshen up and it should be good to scrub another day.
The Re:gn Compostable Sponges scored 77/100 in our tests. All our panellists were impressed with the sponges’ eco-credentials (being both compostable and plant-based) and gave them a thumbs-up for everyday cleaning. Our cutlery was left sparkling and the sponge removed lipstick from the rim of glasses in just one or two wipes. They effectively removed grease, too – with no smearing or redepositing – and were super absorbent, helping us clean lots of crockery in one go.
The main trade-offs were that they struggled with tougher staining – burnt-on tomato sauce proved a real challenge – and were left slightly stained after scrubbing. The edges of the scouring side frayed a little, too, but with three compostable sponges in the pack, you can easily swap one out for a fresh one when needed.
Megan is the Good Housekeeping Institute’s senior homes and lifestyle writer. She loves diving into the latest product releases to find the very best buys on the market and has written hundreds of product reviews on everything from the best vacuum cleaners and coffee machines to the best ice cream makers and robot window cleaners.
When she’s not writing about the newest gadgets and gizmos for your home and garden, you’ll find her running every distance from 5km to 100km or relaxing at home with her cat – there really is no in between.
Megan has an MA in Magazine Journalism and has previously written for Stylist, Glamour, Women's Health, TimeOut, SquareMeal, and YOU magazine. You can find Megan on Instagram @meganlouisegeall.
Blossom is passionate about finding the best home products and appliances for GH readers. As head of the homes testing team, she has led reviews across multiple categories, from pizza ovens, and smart plugs to portable fans and hobs. She enjoys delving into the intricacies of products and refining testing protocols to ensure we’re testing them against their claims. Her aim is to find the top-performing products on the market, to help take the hard work out of housework. Blossom’s most notable accomplishment in the lab has been toasting 528 slices of bread in her quest to find the best toasters money can buy. In her free time, she openly admits to being a music geek and indulges her creative side through crocheting, baking, singing and writing.
Jasmin is a Household Product Specialist at the Good Housekeeping Institute, with extensive experience testing products across kitchen, sleep, laundry care, household cleaning, refrigeration, dish care and more. Her work ranges from detailed performance analysis of washing machines, dishwashers and refrigeration appliances to hands-on assessments of cookware, cleaning products and sleep essentials.
With a Master’s degree in Chemistry from Imperial College London, Jasmin combines technical expertise with a strong aptitude for interpreting large datasets to deliver clear, evidence-based consumer insights.
