Busways is keeping local waterways safer while cleaning its bus fleet with new cleaning products following a successful trial
On World Ocean Day this week, Australian bus operator Busways can safely say it is protecting local waterways with new environmentally friendly, non-toxic cleaning products used in 19 sites across NSW and South Australia.
Since the green cleaning solutions were implemented six months ago, more than 23,000 bus washes have been completely green, using GECA (Good Environmental Choice Australia) certified detergents and grey water captured in onsite rainwater tanks.
Following a trial at Blacktown depot in Western Sydney last year, the new cleaning products were rolled out to 16 NSW depots, two South Australian depots and its National Support office in Pymble.
Busways’ Chief Operating Officer Chris Wolf says while previous cleaning products met all required standards, the company wanted to go the extra step to invest in certified solutions that are as environmentally friendly as possible.
“We pride ourselves on maintaining high fleet presentation standards across our depots and we can do that sustainably,” Wolf says.
“We already use grey water from rainwater tanks for fleet cleaning at most of our depots. Moving to greener cleaning solutions further reduces the environmental impact of this essential maintenance activity.”
The green cleaning products are used to clean more than 900 buses inside and out as well as for employee hand hygiene and cleaning in workshop and administration areas.
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Busways has also introduced a new system improving the efficiency, safety, and delivery of the bus wash cleaning solution through smart and sustainable design. The design includes new innovative product dispensers that regulate the amount and automate the mixture of the products, reducing plastic container waste by up to 90 per cent using concentrates.
Busways partnered with NSW distributor Klenall Industrial Suppliers (KIS) to source solutions with a high biodegradability that are GECA (Good Environmental Choice Australia) certified.
KIS Business Director Cameron Murphy says Busways has proven its reputation as an innovator by taking on the new products leading the industry.
“We were impressed when asked by Busways to come up with an eco-conscious solution to their cleaning and hand-hygiene chemicals,” Murphy says.
“This demonstrates Busways’ vision and qualifies their reputation as an industry leader, we are proud to be in partnership with them.”
In 2022, Busways won the 2022 BIC National Industry Environment and Innovation Award and the BusNSW Environment and Innovation Award.
GECA is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that provides certified solutions for sustainable consumption and production through the Ecolabel program. The Ecolabel standards address multiple environmental issues such as toxicity, air quality, energy use, recyclability, carcinogens, reducing water consumption, protecting waterways, use of sustainable materials and minimising material usage.
GECA standards also consider impacts across the entire life cycle of a product or service, from raw material extraction through to use and eventual disposal or breakdown.
Klenall Industrial Suppliers is a NSW-owned business that has been providing cleaning products and other services for Australian businesses since 1983.