Clearsight, based in Kristiansand, operates dispensing units where washer fluid can be filled directly into the car. The solution eliminates the need for plastic containers, reduces transport emissions and cuts large amounts of plastic waste that could otherwise end up as microplastics in nature.
“The best thing about Clearsight is that we have made it very easy for each individual motorist to make a big difference for the environment,” says Christian Berthelsen, CEO of Future Green Group and Chair of the Board of Clearsight.
See how it works here:
Simple steps – major environmental impact
Windscreen washer fluid is an everyday product that all motorists need. It is traditionally sold in plastic containers that require both energy and resources to produce, transport and recycle.
“It is simply unacceptable that so many resources should be used and so many emissions created just to make screenwash available,” says Berthelsen. He describes how he realised the potential when he saw how much recycled plastic was piling up from used containers.
Clearsight’s dispensers have 1,000-litre tanks that are filled with screen wash from local warehouses – entirely without plastic packaging. Consumers avoid both empty containers and plastic bags, and can refill directly from the tank in just a few seconds.
The dispenser has been developed and produced by Vendanor AS.
Lars Brede Johansen, Head of Plastics and Environment at The Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund, explains it as follows:
Containers and bags of screen wash are short-lived plastic that can be eliminated through Clearsight’s solution for packaging-free refilling of both screen wash and AdBlue. The solution meets the needs of both private motorists and professional operators with large vehicle fleets, with a significant national impact and international potential.
Reduction is crucial for a resource-efficient circular plastics economy. Plastic must be used more intelligently, and reduced wherever possible. The Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund will therefore continue to support the establishment of such circular business models.
Funded by plastic bag fees
The project has received funding from The Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund, which Berthelsen describes as crucial:
“We have received absolutely invaluable support from The Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund. The funding has had a turbo effect on the project, and we are seeing a genuine interest in what we are doing.”
The market has responded well to the first reverse vending machines, and Clearsight has major ambitions for further rollout.
“I believe that in ten years’ time, screen wash will be something you buy from vending machines. We cannot continue a development where we create so much plastic waste that ends up in nature,” says Berthelsen.
