As we are continuously working towards a more sustainable, greener future, we think it’s time you first started to assess things closer to home and at your place of work. Businesses of all sizes are only now starting to question key aspects of their structure and operations in order to reduce their negative impact on the environment. While cutting out purchasing plastic bags at the supermarket, and reducing your plastic waste when you’re on your travels is a good habit to start off with, you can actually reduce your washrooms environmental footprint too. Restaurants are ditching plastic straws and opting for paper straws, coffee shops are offering discounts to customers who want coffee in their reusable cup, and new start up businesses are bringing their innovative ideas to life with smart packaging to minimise waste.
The world continues to grow and evolve, and this means we have to too, including developing our businesses to support the latest sustainable, eco-friendly trends to protect the environment and work towards a greener future. Let’s start with the washroom where you can make some significant and powerful changes without the expensive price tag attached.
We unintentionally use more water than we need to when we use the washroom to wash our hands and our face. If you were to total how much water is wasted per week, you’d be very surprised. You can avoid wasting water by installing motion sensor taps. Motion sensors are innovatively brilliant, and they can sense when you need water when you place your hand underneath the faucet. The infrared technology detects the infrared energy of an individual, and acts accordingly. In addition, a motion sensor tap will help keep washrooms cleaner and therefore prevents the spreading of bacteria and germs, most often hidden in public washrooms.
It’s important now more than ever, to keep hygiene standards at an all time high. With motion sensor taps, automatic soap dispensers and hygienic hand dryers, you can reduce the risk of viruses spreading between users. A HEPA filter is a component within a hand dryer that has the power to kill up to 99.9% of germs and bacteria that are lingering in the washroom air. With handsfree technology in the washroom, you’re promoting high standards of hygiene and the most effective hygiene solutions – whether you’re in your home, or in the workplace.
Ventilation within a bathroom / washroom is absolutely crucial. This is because out of all the rooms within a home, and in an organisation, the washroom features extra humidity. Washing hands, using hand dryers, and flushing the toilet are all acts that add moisture to the air in the washroom, which is why ventilation is important – it removes the trapped moisture. A vent fan is a great addition to cut down on energy usage, as it doesn’t require electricity! By installing a vent fan, it could save you around 60% on your energy bills too.
Many of us have made the switch to LED’s, and if you haven’t, now is the time. There have been significant technological advances in the LED industry in recent years, and the different ambient colours makes them much more popular. Making this change is one of the most simplistic ways to take care of the environment and reduce monthly energy bills. LED bulbs last 25 times longer than normal bulbs, and they consume 80% less energy too – which just goes to show how a small change can make a rather large difference.
For large organisations especially, the day to day operations of a washroom can soon mount it, and it can be difficult to maintain, even with regular professional cleaning services. This is an important step to tackle in any organisation, no matter the size. The vast majority of washrooms will feature disposable soap bottles, paper towels, and not so sustainable toilet paper. However, simply switching to refillable soap dispensers, removing the paper towel usage, and having sustainable, bamboo toilet paper is a great step in the right direction to preserving the environment. You should avoid buying products from mainstream brands and support local, start up businesses with a product range that is designed for sustainability.
We know that with installations of hygienic hand dryers, soap dispensers, energy efficient vents and so on, will require energy. Many electricity supplies are generated from the act of burning fossil fuels, but there are efficient green solutions whereby sustainable energy sources are available from solar and wind farms. There is a variety of green energy (renewable energy) suppliers and we expect there to be more breaking through within the next few years to help fight climate change.
If you’re looking to get a head start on going green for your commercial washroom, please get in touch with us. Our product range includes only the best performing hand dryers in the market, and affordable soap dispensers (manual and automatic) to promote great hygiene.