Staying safe & sustainable during COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting forced changes in behaviour continues to confuse many, as we all seek to better understand the new normal.
So, I wanted to add my six penneth for what it is worth. To be clear I am no pandemic or medical expert, but what I do think I understand is that the COVID-19 virus is not like a flea – it can’t jump between humans, it needs something to be the transfer bridge i.e. the light switch someone who is infected has just touched, the droplets from a sneeze, airborne droplets from flushing toilets with the lid up, and so on.
Therefore, as we all scramble to return to a safe workplace, I have been discussing with my teams to gather our collective thoughts on how some of SaveMoneyCutCarbon’s energy and water saving and wellness & sustainable living ranges might also be able to have a further value / benefit in reducing transmission of COVID, so here are a few ideas from a locked down CEO…
If you are using hand sanitisers across your business, then try to pick one that obviously has eco credentials and most importantly is fully tested. The version we sell on our sustainable living and wellness section of the SaveMoneyCutCarbon website uses a dispenser that is sensor controlled so your hands don’t touch the units. It also dispenses foam meaning you use less but get the same cleansing result, as one unfortunate impact of this will be the millions of extra plastic bottles needed that the sanitiser fluids are being sold in around the world, and the resulting carbon footprint.
The one we supply is also NHS and UKAS tested. (UKAS is the UK’s National Accreditation Body) I love what our product team have done by including the instructional backing board, little touches like refilling funnel, batteries and 10 office COVID safety posters.
The Propelair toilet for which we are the largest distributor and installer in the UK, only flushes with the lid down and therefore removes the risk of all the air borne droplets. Every time you flush a traditional toilet with the lid up, droplets of water can carry bugs that are propelled into the air. We install the Propelair toilet in their thousands to achieve huge water saving (typically 80%) but now maybe reduction of bacteria spread is more important.
We are all being told to wash our hands for 20 seconds, but beware of who touched the tap last. Again, another water saving technology now becomes a COVID fighting technology, simply use our proven range of infrared taps, so no staff or customer has to touch your taps.
Don’t forget to also think about the extra water usage and embedded carbon, over 4% of the UK energy is used by the water industry pumping and processing our water. If your building has 100 staff and each one washes their hands for the recommended full 20 seconds, say 10 times per day and often your typical older basin taps can run at 12 litres per minute, then you could be seeing over 4000 litres of water a day going down the plug hole. In this short video you’ll see why a school are a huge fan of our sensor taps.
A quick retro fit of a tap aerator cost a few pounds, can be fitted in minutes to each tap and could easily reduce that figure by over 50%. Learn more about how easy it is to fit a tap aerator here.