On this page
The cleaning industry plays an important role in the day-to-day operations of organisations, but is often associated with significant environmental impacts. Consider the use of chemicals, packaging waste and linear consumption models where products are discarded after one use. By ensuring circular purchasing, we can significantly reduce this impact. On this page, we offer tools and some examples for circular purchasing of cleaning supplies and materials.
Circular strategies
Reuse: see if you can reuse cleaning products and materials. A simple way to save material: avoid plastic bags in waste buckets. Choose packaging that matches the size of the product. The generic packaging criterion of the Flemish government provides inspiration.
Minimal use of materials: ensure that products are smartly constructed, with fewer parts. Also pay attention to efficient use of cleaning products: concentrated formulas help you use the right amount. Clean only when really necessary by checking image quality, regularly consulting and adapting the number of cleaning sessions.
Increase the proportion of recycled content: enter into dialogue with the market to ensure that you set realistic requirements in your specifications. With more stringent requirements, you also encourage innovation.
Reduce the logistics impact: include criteria for transport in your specifications (environmentally-friendly vehicles, smart routes and fewer deliveries). Set requirements for the vehicle fleet, for example via the ecoscore. Invest in reversed logistics, where used products are taken back after a delivery. Strive for fossil fuel-free logistics.
Repairability and maintainability: when choosing cleaning products, pay attention to how easy they are to repair. Can you easily replace parts that wear out quickly? Are spare parts available? Ask suppliers to provide spare parts throughout the life of the material.
Standardised design: standard packaging is good for logistics and reuse. Make sure the packaging fits the contents exactly for efficient use of space. Smarter design means more products in one shipment. That way, vehicles are optimally loaded without transporting air. Choose sustainable, recyclable packaging materials that are lighter and more compact.
Contractual agreements for take-back and reuse: include in your specifications that the supplier will take back packaging at the time of delivery and reuse it as packaging material.
Reversed logistics: if your supplier takes back end-of-life products, have them taken away in empty, reusable packaging after a delivery. This makes the return process more efficient.
Insight into materials: opt for packaging made from a single type of material or components that are easy to separate (without glue or staples). Note that coated paper and tetrabrik do not count as one material. Make sure the composition is clearly stated on the package.
Criteria
EU GPP criteria for cleaning products and services
Flemish government: sheets on sustainable procurement of cleaning products and services:
product sheet cleaning products: information, recommendations and example criteria on how to make your public contract for cleaning products sustainable legally
product sheet cleaning services: cleaning services also fall under this product group, as they are associated with the supply of cleaning products and therefore require sustainable as well as social criteria in the specifications.
Nuance: the sheets focus on conventional cleaning products, while probiotic cleaning based on microorganisms is becoming more popular. Current eco-labels focus on traditional products such as all-purpose cleaners and detergents. These sheets are not suitable for purchasing microorganism-based cleaning agents. For cleaning services, social criteria are also still important.
