Wet Wipes the best way to kill and REMOVE germs viruses & bacteria
By Grange Europe | 04 March 2021
With a worldwide threat to public health, part of infection control includes the need to kill and remove germs and bacteria from surfaces.
Antibacterial Wet Wipes are a preferred safe and practical solution in order to ensure effective sanitisation / disinfectant against germs, viruses and bacteria
Whether in the home, office or at leisure all surfaces and equipment should be wiped to avoid the possibility of harmful germs spreading.
The Hygiene Company antibacterial wet wipes kill and remove 99.99% of germs and bacteria in seconds essential in the current pandemic but is there still an environmental issue?
They’re eco-friendly too; and are either 100% recyclable, biodegradable or compostable. So why do you only hear the sensationalised side of the story?
RECYCLABLE OR BIODEGRADABLE
Jonathan Bradford, Founder of The Hygiene Company said; “We offer a wipe that kills 99.9999% of all known germs, our wipes are primarily for the well-being of users and furthermore, our dispenser is a refill item that stops the use of unnecessary packaging and uses a minimal packing refill, negating the disposal of plastic buckets and tubs, as per conventional wipe vessels”
Moving on to the environmental issues, Bradford said; “The wipes themselves are recyclable or biodegradable options offered, the bags in which the wipes are offered are both Biodegradable and recyclable all of which helps contribute to a company’s carbon neutral target”
SO WHAT ARE THE FACTS?
To make 10M2 of union 18gsm Megatex (Recyclable material) it takes 1Kw of power
To make 10M2 of biodegradable paper it takes 12Kw of power and over 40 gallons of water
The environmental issue is not as straightforward as the negative reports may indicate.
What may save on materials, may lose out to use of power. Jonathan Bradford, MD of the Hygiene Company said: “I think we offer products for which have been carefully researched in all areas offering many beneficial factors and great value for money”
Continuing on the theme, Bradford commented; “Rest assured we are always working on ways to make our products more environmentally friendly and as a company whom are at the forefront of helping to improve compliance to good hygiene practice throughout all industries, we are also at the forefront of pursuing helping to drive for completely plastic free single use products”
Bradford went on to quote Sainsburys when asked why they use plastic bags instead of paper had also looked at the costs and benefits and announced that they had investigated and as Bradford surmised for Wipes, for plastic v paper bags Sainsburys found there also isn’t an advantage in terms of carbon factor either as paper has a carbon factor of 1.3 but LDPE has a carbon factor of 2.6
THE NEXT INVESTIGATION
One of the biggest issues that under NO circumstances should Wet Wipes be flushed down a toilet, this is the issue that makes the headlines and these are usually found to be Baby Wipes.
Bradford pondered whether the issue was not just about the products; “The Issue I find more interesting and far more concerning, yet nobody appears to be asking is:
How is it that wipes appear to be bypassing the sewage treatment plant and ending up directly in our rivers and seas? Does this also mean that in the 21st Century raw sewage is still being pumped directly into the rivers and seas?”
The Hygiene Company Philosophy and Commitment to Green Policy
Recycling – Makes good use of a product that has already served its purpose by remanufacturing it into a new and useful product.
Biodegradable – Material that can enter landfill and degrades within a reasonable amount of time, without harming the environment.
General Waste – This is often incinerated and can be beneficial in many ways:
When using the right waste disposal company, they ensure that – at time of incineration – NO harmful or toxic gases are released into the atmosphere.
A) The heat emitted from incineration can be put to good use by generating both electric power and heat.
B) Better Waste Management
C) Less Dependent on Landfills
D) Savings on transportation of waste
E) Incineration does not add any toxic elements to groundwater, as do many landfill sites.
ANOTHER BURNING QUESTION
Last week I was asked in-house: “One of our larger customers says all of their waste is incinerated. Hence, is there any reason why we wouldn’t just remain with the current wipes (which contain plastic and are recyclable) and continue to dispose of as normal. Or, are there any advantages of switching to biodegradable wipes when they both end up being incinerated?”
My immediate reaction was, given our biodegradable wipes are made of 100% natural products (50% wood pulp and 50% viscose), these would incinerate without emitting harmful gases, so perhaps these are the way forward. Yet, when recently attending a ‘Meet the Buyers’ event at Stansted Airport, we learnt from Grundon (The UK’s largest family-owned supplier of waste management) that all waste is treated before incineration. This ensures that what comes out of the chimney into the air is 100% clean and not harmful in any way.
We will ensure to update our website environmental policies as appropriate.