SUSTAINABLE CLEANING
Nature’s Cleaner
The cleaning industry represents a global service and stimulated by increasing efforts to stop the spread of allergens and germs in healthcare, food and beverage manufacturing applications, it is projected to increase rapidly. The global demand for cleaning chemicals is forecast to increase to £30.5billion in 2018 at a rate of 4.3% annually, according to a study by Freedonia Group’s new report. In the UK alone, it is estimated to be worth upwards of £5billion. With the industry set to reach multibillions and expansion due to continue year on year, we can expect a colossal amount of chemical cleaning products to be used on a daily basis.
Across the cleaning industry, there is a widely held belief that chemical-based cleaning products are necessary to reach the required standards of attractive, sanitised and healthful conditions; be it in the home or the workplace. This generally accepted narrative, which perpetuates the use of chemicals in cleaning, suggests that in order to remove dust, harmful allergens and contagious germs and create a ‘healthful working environment’, chemical cleaning
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products must be used. However, the long-term risks from chemical cleaning products at typical exposure levels are often uncertain and occasionally unknown.
For example, chemical cleaning products have a far reaching and detrimental impact on the environment and can have lasting ramifications for generations to come. The chemicals used in even the concentrated forms of a variety of commercial cleaning products are deemed as hazardous. This creates a whole host of additional problems and costs for those using chemical cleaning products such as handling, storage, and disposal issues.
The responsibility for safely disposing of chemical cleaning products rests solely with the business using them. In order to comply with environmental health and safety standards, businesses cannot idly dispose of their chemical waste down the drain. Yet, this appears to be common practice with many that use chemical cleaning products and has had severe implications on water quality. For example, researchers from the Food Standards Agency and the Food and Environment Research
As the push for a sustainable future continues, the focus has turned to the impact that chemical-based cleaners may have on the environment. Martin Booth, Managing Director at Green World Innovations explains the risks that these products pose, and tells us a bit more about their aqueous alternative.
Agency have undertaken a comprehensive study of Britain’s unmanaged waterways, especially those in areas with an industrial history, and have found increased pollution affecting the local ecosystem.
The human cost of cleaning with chemicals is one that cannot be swept under the rug either. Chemical cleaning products have become increasingly and alarmingly connected with skin, eye, and respiratory irritation. A United Nations Environment Programme report into the cost of inaction on the sound management of chemicals found that 88% of recognised occupational skin disease cases and 36% of occupational respiratory disease cases are related to chemical exposure.
Moreover, long-term exposure to chemicals that are frequently used in cleaning products can have serious lasting effects on those exposed. A study conducted by Imperial College London tracked the occurrence of asthma in a group of 9,488 people born in Britain in 1958. Excluding those who had asthma as children, 9% developed asthma by age 42. Risks in the workplace
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