Punk Powder from Muc-Off – a green clean?

Muc-Off’s Punk Powder has some serious green credentials, can we now get our muck off with a clean conscience?

It’s taken Muc-Off three years to produce Punk Powder, why so long? Well they have been working hard to produce a product with the strength to clean, while being as green as possible. Muc-Off haven’t just looked at what’s in Punk Powder, they’ve looked at every part of the product. From ingredients to packaging, they’ve gone all out to make a green cleaner; then coloured it pink!

So what’s in Punk Powder? I don’t have a complete ingredient list, but apparently its plastic free, readily biodegradable and contains as many plant-based ingredients as possible. Muc-Off trialled over 20 different variations before arriving their final concoction.

CO2 busting Packaging

But producing an environmentally-friendly cleaner wasn’t enough. Muc-Off then took a look at the whole product to see where else they could make a difference. First up was taking out the water. Why? It’s heavy and that means it costs energy (CO2) and money to transport. Reduce the water content and you reduce its carbon footprint. You’ve probably seen this with a lot of other non-cycling cleaning products; reduce the weight, reduce the costs. All you need do is add water when you’re ready to use it.

So with no liquid to carry around packaging becomes a little simpler. A powder isn’t going to leak during transport, so paper and cardboard packaging can be used. Punk Powder comes as two sachets in a cardboard box, which is printed with vegetable ink; marginal gains? And with a little simple origami the box can be turned into a funnel to help get every bit of the powder into the bottle.

And what a bottle! Ok Muc-Off’s Bottle For Life isn’t a necessary part of the Punk Powder regime, but if you get through plastic spray bottles like me, then it’s a massive improvement. Made from aluminium, with a slip on silicone base, this one should last. The only weak point I can see is the trigger mechanism, which is the usual plastic construction. Maybe that’s something that can be improved on in the future?

What’s it like?

But what’s it like in action? Well like any of the citrus based cleaners, whether getting dirt off the frame or cleaning the chain it gets the job done. With a dirty frame give it a quick rinse first, spray and leave it to do its thing for minute or two, then get scrubbing. On particularly dirty chains, I put the Punk Powder in a chain cleaner for best results. And you can do all this cleaning safe in the knowledge that all the run-off won’t have an adverse effect on the environment.

So, Muc-Off Punk Powder, it’s clean and green (well, pink) so you can wash your pride and joy safe in the knowledge that you’re doing your bit for the environment.

Muc-Off Punk Powder