The Technology Helping to Create the Washrooms of the Future

• Content
• Cleaning, Hygiene & Washroom
• The Technology Helping to Create the Washrooms of the Future

30 May 2022

In the wake of COP26 and the implementation of the government’s net-zero strategy, businesses are racing to reduce their carbon footprint. One of the main areas where major sustainability gains can be seen is in the washroom.

Watch the Video

Low Energy Hand Dryers

Global research and technology company Dyson for Business, and the UK’s leading motorway service provider Welcome Break, have announced details of a recent partnership which is helping Welcome Break to deliver its sustainability goals by using the latest washroom technology.

Dyson’s low energy hand dryers are helping Welcome Break to reduce its carbon footprint, with the hand dryers emitting 85 prep cent less CO₂ than single-use paper towels. Welcome Break is aiming to become the greenest motorway service in the UK.

The company has installed over 450 Dyson “Airblade” low energy hand dryers across all of its 44 service areas and 31 hotels in the UK. Each hand dryer uses only a sixth of the energy of conventional dryers.

Globally, millions of tonnes of paper towels are used every year, with most going straight to landfill sites since they cannot be recycled. But with research showing that damp hands can transfer up to 1,000 times more bacteria than dry hands, customers must be able to dry their hands thoroughly and sustainably.

Recycling Hand Towels

Another company using techniques to help with this is Harrods, the Knightsbridge luxury department store. They have solved one of its biggest FM challenges by diverting tonnes of its used paper hand towels from general waste.

The solution recycles all existing hand towel waste from washrooms. The used paper towels are then regularly collected, compressed and processed into new paper products which are then mass distributed.

According to Kimberly-Clark, almost three-quarters of UK businesses say reducing the environmental impact of their hygiene products already guides their decision-making – a factor set to take on even more significance in the future.

Water-Saving Toilets

At Shell’s new EV charging hub in Fulham, Propelair’s water-saving toilets are helping the site to reduce its water use.

Water use contributes to around 6 per cent of UK carbon emissions, and Propelair toilets use on average 84 per cent less water than standard models. The closed lid also improves hygiene by reducing airborne germs by up to 95 per cent.

According to Propelair, a growing list of some 200 commercial and public-sector customers are saving nearly 1 billion litres a year – enough to fill about 350 Olympic pools.

These washroom features help paint a future vision of how washrooms can be “greener” going forward and what devices or techniques we can use to achieve that goal in light of COP26 and COVID-19.

Picture: a photograph of the new washroom at Welcome Break. Image Credit: Dyson for Business

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 30 May 2022

Share

Related Articles