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• Encouraging Sustainable Technology in the Laundry Industry (PDF - 40 KB)

The Goal

To encourage the laundry industry to reduce water, energy and material consumption by using newer, more efficient technologies.

The Challenge

The laundry industry uses water and energy, and introduces harsh chemicals to the environment in order to provide a service to the community. To reduce the impact of the laundering industry, businesses need to be encouraged to implement cleaner, more efficient technologies.

This case study

The Queensland Environmental Protection Agency’s (QEPA) ecoBiz program is an industry partnership program designed to provide businesses with methods to scrutinise inputs, internal processes and outputs of the business in pursuit of environmental and economic efficiencies.

The ecoBiz program has worked with the Southport Steam Laundry in Queensland, Australia to introduce new technology that demonstrates the potential to save water, energy and money and reduce waste.

This new technology, a continuous batch washing system, was first installed in Spain in 2004, followed by a second installation in Denmark. The introduction of the system in Australia represents the first time this technology has been deployed in the Southern Hemisphere.

How did we make it happen?

EcoBiz assisted a the Southport Steam Laundry (Australia), through a six-step ecoBiz process to ensure all aspects of the proposed technology installation were evaluated in terms of inputs, and to calculate the resources cost per production unit (e.g. 1 tonne of linen).

Part of this process required the company to submit an 'Action Plan' to the QEPA, detailing the proposed works and associated costs. The QEPA endorsed the action plan, and the business was granted a rebate of $150 000, assisting the company to achieve a full payback on their investment in 4.6 years.

The company installed the new technology in 2006.

How far have we come?

The company that has installed the new laundering technology estimates annual savings of $119 000 due to:

• Reduced water consumption (100 ML/year – the equivalent of 53 Olympic size swimming pools);
• Reduced trade waste discharge (85 ML/year);
• Reduced chemical use (10 000 L/year); and
• Energy savings of up to 10% associated with water heating, uniform boiler demand and savings on drying costs.

EcoBiz has identified that this technology is applicable to more than 70% of the Queensland Laundry Industry. This project has been presented at an Industry forum attended by over 150 industry leaders, in order to enhance the uptake of this new, more sustainable technology.

What have we learnt?

This project has shown that with support and advice, industries are able to successfully adopt new and exciting technologies. The technology introduced to this medium sized business in Australia was once only available to larger commercial laundries. This is an example of extending the reach of sustainable technology through the creation of on the ground implementation initiatives within the government.

For more information on ecoBiz go to:
http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/environmental_management/sustainability/industry/ecobiz_queensland/