Cleaning uses water, chemicals and diesel. Pretending otherwise would be marketing rather than responsibility, so this page is about the specific things we do to reduce the impact, and the things we have not solved yet.
We would rather publish a short honest list than a long page of claims nobody audits.
Environment
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Water first, chemicals second
Pure water, DOFF steam and hot water systems do most of our cleaning. Chemicals are used where they are the only thing that works, not by default.
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Runoff controlled
Water recovery on unbunded yards, so detergent and hydrocarbons do not reach surface water drains. We will refuse a job rather than wash contaminants into a watercourse.
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Repair over replace
Cut edge corrosion treatment instead of a re-roof, and roof cleaning instead of recovering, keeps a very large amount of steel out of skips.
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Route planning
Work is grouped geographically so vans are not crossing the region twice in a day.
People
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Real Living Wage
Every operative is paid at or above the Real Living Wage, including those on night and weekend shifts.
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Training paid for
Training and certification is funded by us and kept current, not treated as the operative's problem.
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Local recruitment
We hire from the areas we work in, and we will talk to anyone about a route into the trade regardless of qualifications.
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Safety over speed
Any operative can stop a job on safety grounds without asking, and without it counting against them.
Community
We clean graffiti from schools, places of worship and community buildings in Greater Manchester at no charge where the content is offensive, because waiting for a budget line is not a reasonable response to racist graffiti on a school wall.
We also take on a small number of apprenticeship and work placement positions each year through local colleges.
What we have not fixed yet
Our vans are still diesel. Electric equivalents with the payload and range we need are only now becoming realistic, and we will replace as the fleet cycles rather than claim a target we cannot fund.
We do not currently publish a carbon figure, because a number we cannot verify is worth less than nothing. Measuring it properly is on the list for the coming year.
Want our policies for a tender?
Environmental, health and safety, equal opportunities and modern slavery policies are all available. Ask and we will send them the same day.
Request a quote
Send us the details and we'll come back with a fixed price. No pressure, no sales calls.