October 15, 2021

Greener hand hygiene choices that show you take sustainability seriously

As we head into the busy winter cold and flu season, the quality and visibility of your hand hygiene provision is going to be essential to keep your employees safe and your operation running smoothly.

But with your business’ sustainability credentials increasingly under the spotlight and 74% of companies saying they are concerned about the impact of the pandemic on their sustainability credentials(1), how can you provide the solutions you need while still doing your bit to protect the planet?

The future is battery-free

Every year, more than 550 million pounds of batteries go into landfill globally and only 5% are recycled. Not only are batteries costly for facility managers, but chemicals from batteries which are incinerated
or go to landfill may pollute lakes and
streams, vaporise into the air, or leach into
groundwater, exposing the environment
to highly corrosive acids and bases(3). Removing the need for batteries in your hand hygiene dispensers lowers your costs and is good for the environment. With 92% of facility users preferring touch-free dispensers(4), innovative solutions such as our battery-free LumeCel™ Dispenser mean you can choose hand hygiene that people want to use, while making a greener choice. Using a rechargeable energy system powered by ambient light alone, the LumeCel™ Dispenser provides continuous hand hygiene, with a touch-free foam delivery design that reduces the spread of germs, while offering a more planet-friendly solution.

Durable to reduce waste

Ask yourself, how often do you have to replace your hand hygiene, cleaning and waste products? By choosing products designed to last longer that can withstand frequent use over long periods of time, not only can you reduce and control your costs, you can also make a choice that’s better for the environment by minimising waste.

79% of respondents in our Europe-wide Changing Workplaces research program saw their waste management impacted by customers and staff using more single-use products as a result of the pandemic, but 69% also said they didn’t expect this trend to stay. For facilities getting future-fit, reusable and durable solutions are going to be a must for supporting sustainability aims going forward.

At RCP, long-term durability is central to how products are designed, meaning they don’t need to be replaced as often and continue to perform in the ways you need, each and every day.

Ditch the bulk

Choosing soap and sanitiser dispensers that use concentrated dosing rather than ‘bulk’ refills helps to protect the planet as well as your bottom line. With more applications per refill, you can benefit from better cost in use, as well as reducing the amount of waste you generate from hand hygiene.

Not only is choosing hygienically sealed refills for your dispenser better for the planet, sealed refills also have the advantage of keeping soap and sanitisers fresh and free from cross-contamination, unlike their bulk counterparts where one in four units have been shown to carry illness-causing bacteria.(2)

1. Our Europe-wide Changing Workplace research – which investigated the complex changes in commercial facilities spurred by COVID-19 – showed as many as 74% of businesses are concerned about the impact of the pandemic on their sustainability credentials.

2. *Preferred to manual pump dispensers, based on 415 RCP Facebook survey responses

3. Valerie Flynn, The Guardian.

4. *Chattman, M, Maxwell, S., Gerba, C. Occurrence of Heterotrophic and Coliform Bacteria in Liquid Hand Soaps From Bulk Refillable Dispensers in Public Facilities. Journal of Environmental Health 2011