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DISPOSABLES


FROM RAGS TO RICHES


The right system of disposables could be more sustainable than you think since it could help to reduce waste and over-


consumption. Rachel Thompson from Tork manufacturer SCA expands on this viewpoint.


Waste has become a dirty word. In yesterday’s throwaway society we would routinely replace our old three- piece suites and kitchen units simply because we had tired of them.


We would then take them to the dump or throw them in a skip – a practice that now seems light years away.


These days we reuse, recycle and upcycle everything we can, and any items we no longer want are taken to the charity shop or placed on eBay.


But conversely over recent years there has been an increasing reliance on the use of disposable products. Textile versions of everything from babies’ nappies to handkerchiefs, dishcloths and industrial wipers are gradually being phased out and replaced with paper-based versions.


These disposable alternatives are much more convenient since they remove the need for washing out soiled textiles – which is potentially a time-consuming and unpleasant task. But there are occasions when the sustainability of these so-called disposables is called into question.


However, disposable products can be at least as sustainable as their textile counterparts. Let’s take as an example the use of mixed rags in industry for wiping tasks. On the face of it, large bags filled with old clothes provide a low-cost solution to the wiping needs of industry while also prolonging the useful life of worn clothing.


However if we break this statement down we find the situation becomes less clear. For one thing, the average ‘ragbag’ contains a significant number of rags that are unsuitable for wiping or cleaning because they are stained, undersized or have zips or fasteners that might scratch the wiping surface.


56 | Tomorrow’s Cleaning


These unusable rags will need to be identified and removed before any wiping begins - a time-consuming process that could have a detrimental effect on productivity. These rags will then presumably be thrown away – in other words they will have immediately become ‘disposable’.


Rags come in a variety of materials and some are more absorbent than others. Certain textiles have a tendency to soak up liquids and retain them within the cloth. If such a rag is used for cleaning with solvents, this can lead to large quantities of solvent being wasted. Not only will this have cost implications for the business concerned, the over-use of solvents will also have an adverse effect on sustainability since higher quantities of solvents will need to be supplied and stored on the premises.


Meanwhile, solvent-soaked rags will be left lying around the workplace where they may pollute the atmosphere and have an impact on employees’ health – and this will again potentially compromise sustainability.


For this reason a disposable product that has been purpose-designed for use with solvents could offer a more sustainable solution. Tork Industrial Cleaning Cloths, for example, have been developed to soak up liquids effectively and release them efficiently back on to the wiping surface when squeezed out. Such a product can help to save significant amounts of solvent compared with a less efficient textile, while the fact that it is thrown away after use will avert the issue of solvent-soaked cloths polluting the atmosphere.


There are other costs – both financially and on the environment


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