A Dual Sustainability Solution
Hylab explains how its soap dispensers, alongside Soap₂o’s biodegradable soap sachets helped Leeds University to achieve its sustainability aims.
Campus wide approach to sustainability
Sustainability is integral to staff and students at the University of Leeds and is embedded in the University’s strategy and across campus operations.
The University is committed to removing avoidable single use plastic, as well as addressing the climate impact of procurement decisions. The University’s Climate Plan, approved in 2021, is the single biggest investment it has ever made and includes a goal to reach net zero emissions by 2030.
Delivering against these commitments requires collaboration and action across the whole University community, and a significant initiative is currently taking place across the campus washroom environments.
A dual solution to washroom sustainability
To help deliver against the University’s sustainability commitments, the cleaning services team carefully researches and selects environmentally friendly cleaning and hygiene equipment, working in close partnership with its preferred distribution and services partner, Bunzl Cleaning & Hygiene Supplies.
When they heard about the combination of two sustainable washroom products, Soap₂o biodegradable soap sachets, matched with a contemporary and stylish dispenser made from recycled plastic by Hylab, they knew it had found the perfect solution for hand hygiene requirements.
Hylab’s Myriad Recycled Soap Dispensers have casings made from 100% recycled plastic. Global designer and manufacturer of soap and paper systems, Hylab produces the range in the UK.
Hylab produces recycled dispensers by reclaiming and reprocessing waste plastic from its manufacturing lines using an on-site recycling centre. This strategy conserves valuable resources and is further supported by the use of post-consumer recycled plastics certified under the EuCertPlast scheme. Robust and high-quality, the soap dispensers are perfectly suited for the high numbers of staff and students regularly using them to clean and moisturise hands.
The Soap₂o product formula is vegan and 100% biodegradable, caring for skin and eliminating germs. The water-soluble sachets are easy for the cleaning services team to use, with no single-use plastics in any part of the product or packaging. There is a simple five-step process- fill, add, shake, shake again and go. This starts with filling a four-litre reusable bottle with water, adding four of the sachets, shaking till they dissolve, and shaking again. The product is then ready to be poured into the dispensing unit for use.
Implementation
Approximately 1,500 of Hylab’s Myriad Recycled Soap Dispensers will be installed in academic faculties across the campus, ensuring the highest levels of hand hygiene for over 39,000 students from more than 100 different countries and 9,200 staff. This is being undertaken by the university’s estates team in a phased roll-out, with 240 of the wall-mounted dispensers currently in place.
The soap dispensers are being introduced into a wide range of facilities with hygiene requirements, covering washrooms, kitchens, laboratories, and areas specially designed for practical teaching. This includes mock up workshops for engineering students and specially designed wards for medical students.
Benefits
The dispensers, which have a capacity of 900ml and approximately 1500 doses, deliver the perfect amount of the foam soap, reducing consumption by 85%, meaning less refills and cost savings. With a smooth design and a window with a seamless join, cleaning is easy too. The Soap₂o sachets are wrapped in PVA (poly vinyl alcohol) water soluble film, meaning there is no waste to discard of and the packaging is 100% recyclable. Since there are no single-use plastics in any part of the product or packaging, no microplastics are deposited into the water system, making it a one hundred per cent eco responsible product.
The dosing is always precise which means that the active ingredients in the ready-made sachets will work at the optimum level and costs can be completely controlled and monitored.
As the soap comes in lightweight sachets, 36,000 sachets can be delivered on just one pallet, with environmental and cost benefits. The weight of the load is lighter, with zero shipping of water, which lowers transportation costs, lowers emissions, and reduces the storage space required at the university. Manual handling risks are reduced too, as each small box contains twelve sachets, compared to twelve heavy litres of liquid concentrate.
Additionally, on a monthly basis Soap₂o donate fresh drinking water to developing countries on behalf of Leeds University, through the Made Blue Foundation. This equates to 1,000 litres per every thirty sachets used by the university.
Jill Roberts, Head of Cleaning Services at Leeds University, said: “We selected Soap₂o and Hylab’s Myriad Recycled Soap Dispensers, as the two products work perfectly together, helping us on our journey to net zero. This is one of the biggest initiatives that the university has undertaken to eliminate single use plastic and use products made from recycled material, supporting our environmental goals.”
About Hylab
Established in 2023, as a fusion of two trusted brands, Hylab is a provider of own brand soap and paper dispensers to the hygiene industry. The company combines the exceptional, trusted soap and paper dispenser ranges from two leading sister manufacturing companies, Brightwell and QTS, who have operated respectively in the market for 75 and 45 years. Hylab operates from its existing offices and manufacturing bases in Italy and the UK. Bringing the two portfolios and associated talent together means they are well-positioned to meet the needs of international customers’ evolving hygiene needs, with a broader range of solutions, new product development and custom designs. www.hylabdispensers.com www.soap₂o.co.uk www.bunzlchs.com www.leeds.ac.uk
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