Cleanology is first to kit staff out in uniforms made from 7,000 plastic bottles

Pioneering cleaning firm Cleanology is saving 7,000 plastic bottles a year from landfill by kitting out staff in uniforms made from recycled plastic.

CEO Dominic Ponniah said: “We are extremely proud to be the first to introduce recycled uniforms within our industry. This is just the latest drive to make Cleanology a truly sustainable business. We already operate an electric fleet, and tackle portion control with our chemical-free sachets. Buying recycled, in the form of recycled uniforms, helps to close the loop even further.”

The uniforms have been rolled out following a full trial in 2019. Manufactured from a blend of plastic bottles and organic cotton, they are 100 per cent sustainable, ‘fair wear’ garments.

Over the next year, Cleanology will supply operatives with 2,000 branded polo shirts and 1,000 branded sweatshirts. Each shirt is made from around two bottles, while the sweatshirts use around three bottles. This will save 7,000 bottles from landfill and reduce the need for energy and resources to manufacture new clothing.

Cleanology has twice in a row won the Golden Service Award for sustainability, and has also been shortlisted for the European Cleaning and Hygiene Awards.

As well as being certified to ISO 14001, Cleanology was the first in Europe to introduce portion-controlled biological cleaning sachets – saving 16,092 litres of water every year. It has cut plastic bottle use from 21,600 to 600 every year; combined with the introduction of recycled uniforms, the company will save 28,000 bottles from landfill.

2019 also saw a focus on reducing paper use, resulting in a dramatic fall of 33,000 sheets of paper each year. This improvement came from a switch to e-invoices for clients, which followed a previous switch to e-payslips for staff.