Back in 1992, Ecover began blazing a trail by opening one of the first ecological factories of its kind – a factory suitably fit for the eco-friendly cleaning products it was built to create. Located in the Belgian town of Malle, it was celebrated for its innovative design, with more than 90% of the materials used in its making being recycled or renewable.
For instance, instead of the steel and concrete you might traditionally associate with an industrial building, the factory is constructed with reclaimed wooden beams and strengthened European pine. Plus, low energy ‘eco’ bricks made from recycled materials have been used throughout.
The building is designed to let in plenty of sunlight too, which makes it a nicer place to work in and reduces the need for heating. The living green roof also contributes to the insulation – as well as helping the building to blend in with the local environment – while small flowering succulents now attract plenty of wildlife, including magnificent ospreys.
Unsurprisingly, Ecover’s factory has made such great strides towards being environmentally friendly that it has been named a Platinum Zero Waste Certified Facility by TRUE, a certification programme that evaluates the waste reduction and resource efficiency performance of businesses. Platinum is the highest level of award, which just goes to show Ecover’s practices truly are best in class.
What’s more, as of 2021, Ecover has been diverting 98% of its solid waste away from landfill and incineration through reuse, recycling and reduction projects. Not only that, but the company has a plan to continue to divert even more waste in the next few years.
Industrial mass production can be very water-intensive, but happily, that’s another area where the clever folks at Ecover have been hard at work. One process they’re pretty proud of is their cleaning ‘pig’ – a device that cleans the pipes when changing the production line in the factory. Instead of using water, it simply pushes product through the pipes, making a squealing noise that sounds a bit like a pig!
Ecover then purifies the small amount of wastewater created to meet surface water quality standards, working with local companies to recycle it. For example, one company uses the wastewater to maintain bacteria at its biological water treatment plant, while another partner uses the wastewater to liquify other organic waste and pumps it to a fermenter to produce biogas – a renewable fuel source.
Read the new book with your little ones to discover how we can all waste a little bit less #OneLessThing
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