Sustainability within the Cleaning Services Team

🩸 We are now a Period Friendly University 🩸

1 in 10 young menstruating people in the UK cannot afford period products, impacting mental health and access to education.

We partnered with the Students' Union and Grace & Green to:

🩸Ensure access to sustainable and safe period products for all our students and staff
🩸Create an inclusive environment
🩸Promote sustainability through plastic-free and organic period products
🩸Combine access with education to go further in breaking taboos

Our dispensers can be found in the following locations:-

 

Barbara Hepworth - BH1/07

Schwann Building - SB5/09

Harold Wilson Building - HW2/23

Charles Siles Building - CSG/13

Oastler Building - OA5/22

Bronte Lecture Theatres - BL1/11

Sparck Jones Building - SJ2/14

 

#perioddiginity

#HudSustainability

#Huddersfield Students Union

 

Introducing the eco-friendly, cost-effective Soap₂O which removes single use plastics from the soap world!

The soap sachets are wrapped in a PVA water soluble film so there’s no waste to discard and the packaging is 100% recyclable.  The dispensers are also made from recycled plastic.

Bottles for life are filled with water on site, the soap sachets are added to the water, the bottle is shaken, left for ten minutes, shaken again, and then it’s decanted into the dispensers – see how easy it is by viewing the short video on the link below: -

Training – SOAP2O  

 

There are many environmental benefits of transferring to Soap₂O including: -

• It hugely reduces levels of single use plastic
• There’s less transportation and storage required
• The packaging is 100% recyclable
• The soap is vegan friendly
• We’re supporting the University’s sustainability initiative

 

To give you an idea of plastic reduction, below shows 12 litres of our current soap against 12 litres of Soap₂O soap sachets: -

 

 

(Please note – until current stock is depleted, some buildings will remain on our current soap system)

Changing the Way the World Cleans with Stabilised Aqueous Ozone – the simplest, safest, most sustainable way to clean and sanitise

Stabilised Aqueous Ozone (SAO) is a highly effective cleaning agent that breaks down dirt, grease and other contaminants, safely replacing traditional chemical cleaners, deodorisers and sanitisers. This means no more storing, mixing or disposing of traditional chemicals. It also provides no harm to the body if ingested or consumed.

It works in 3 easy steps -

1. Oxygen from the air is safely turned into ozone then infused into ordinary cold tap water
   
   

2. As the treated water moves through the product, sensors monitor the system to ensure the water has been infused with the correct level of O3. Ozone is attracted to germs, soils and bacteria and quickly eliminates contaminants it comes in contact with

3. The Lotus® PRO system works for hours to fill larger cleaning equipment to clean commercial spaces

What are the Benefits?

SAO makes our working environment safer, happier and healthier by providing the following:

PEOPLE

• Protects people with allergies or sensitive skin from the harsh effects of chemicals

• Kills 99.9% of germs 

• Improves health & safety (SDS 0-0-0) 

• Promotes a healthier working environment 

PLANET

• Reduction of carbon footprint

• Harmless to the environment as oxidising solution reverts back to water and oxygen

 

We currently have 13 SAO units installed in the following buildings across campus:-

Barbara Hepworth, Joseph Priestley East/South and West, Student Central, Oastler, Jo Cox Building, Haslett, the Library, Schwann, Richard Steinitz, Laura Annie Willson, Charles Sikes and Daphne Steele. 

 

 

Did you know?

The Cleaning Services team are turning lights off as they work around the campus to help save energy

Did you know?

The Cleaning Services team use timer plugs to charge their electrical cleaning equipment to help save energy costs

We have been recognised by i-team Global for generating 239, 519 litres of drinking water over 8 years by using i-mops

 

Since 2015, Cleaning Services have been using i-mops to scrub floors as they clean up to 70% faster than conventional wet mopping and leave surfaces 90% cleaner due to their twin counter-rotating brushes.  Slip and fall hazards are also reduced as the advanced suction technology leaves floors dry and save to walk on almost immediately, and the operator is no longer exhausted through manual labour.  Using i-mops also contributes to sustainability as they reduce the amount of water and chemical used by traditional cleaning methods. 

The manufacturers of i-mops, i-team Global are ambassadors of Made Blue, an entrepreneurial charity that was founded in 2014 which has generated billions of litres of clean water in developing countries on behalf of companies supporting their mission.  i-team Global assist to make the world a better place by mirroring the water used by an i-mop: 1 litre for a litre. 

By operating i-mops, we are lowering the global water footprint whilst contributing positively to the availability of water in the world.