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How to optimize Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

How to optimize Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

by | Jan 20, 2021 | Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)

We are almost a year into the Covid-19 Pandemic. We have been through various stages of lockdown. In 2021, we have more lockdowns to come. It’s far from over.

The impact on businesses has been huge and varied according to industry. However, there’s one burden all businesses and industries share: PPE. Personal Protective Equipment is part of every business’s overhead in 2021. It’s likely that it will be for at least the remainder of the year, if not longer.

Unfortunately, this extra overhead comes at a time when most businesses cannot easily afford it. Operational budgets are squeezed. Cashflow is tight, or ‘negative’. But PPE is required to operate safely and legally. So, how does one budget for it? How do you get the most from your PPE within your budget? Following are some tips on how to optimise your PPE – from purchasing to use, cleaning, and disposal.

Buying PPE:

  • Buy in bulk as far as you can:
    When it comes to personal protective equipment, it is very unlikely that you can ever have too much. This will ensure that you are always equipped with the necessary items and can help reduce costs in comparison to having to continuously buy as you use.
  • Go for quality & check safety ratings:
    It is better to pay more initially and ensure that you have PPE that is up to quality standards as these items will last longer and you will be required to purchase replacement items less often.
  • Always have the basics:
    The basics can include consumables such as masks, hand sanitizers, gloves, and goggles.

Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, these items are essential for business and personal use and it is always recommended to have them available.

Best PPE use and care:

While most PPE will consist of single-use items that are to be worn once and then disposed of, in a time where supplies may be scarce or run low, some items may be re-used to a certain extent:

  • Masks & N95 Respirators: While these are considered single-use items, masks can be worn until they become visibly soiled or moist from respiration. N95 respirators can be worn continuously for up to 8 hours, or until the inside of the mask becomes soiled.

If you are in a situation where you may be required to re-use your masks, always ensure to keep it stored in a clean, breathable container or paper bag while it is not in use.

 

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
  • Eye Protection: Protective eye equipment can serve multiple uses. However, it is recommended that these items are cleaned thoroughly between each use. When cleaning your goggles / face masks always wear gloves and ensure to wipe and disinfect both the inside and outside of the item. Make sure that these items are completely dry after cleaning before using them again. 
  • Gowns / Full Body Suits: Paper and plastic gowns, lab coats, and coveralls can be reused, on the strict condition that they are not visibly soiled, or you know that you have not been directly contaminated.

If you are planning to reuse your gown / coverall, it is imperative to take it off as gently as possible, while wearing clean gloves and ensuring that the item does not come into contact with your face.

You can store the item by hanging it up in a well-ventilated area and ensure that it does not come into contact with any other garments.

Non-single-use items: Items that are not usually intended for single-use such as foggers and sanitizers should be cleaned and disinfected thoroughly before and after each use.

Could cleaning products be affecting your health?

Could cleaning products be affecting your health?

by | Dec 23, 2020 | Cleaning Products and Services

Many traditional household cleaning products contain hazardous chemicals. This is common knowledge; we all know that we should not drink the Bleach. We also know to hold our noses when we use some cleaning products and avoid getting drain cleaner on our bare skin. But did you know that even long after you can longer smell the chemicals in the air, you may still be inhaling them? And that long-term, regular exposure to even small amounts of these chemicals in the air could make you sick? If you feel ‘a bit off’ a lot of the time (and who doesn’t these days?), consider the following:

Some of the most common harmful substances found cleaning products:

There are many chemicals in cleaning products that could impact on your health. The following are just some of them:

  • Ammonia: main ingredient in all-purpose cleaners
  • Sodium hydroxide: bleach, detergents and drain cleaners
  • Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): contained in many home cleaning products. These are the most dangerous. They vaporise easily at room temperature and are invisible, if not always odorless. An example is formaldehyde.

The impact of cleaning product chemicals on your health:

Impact depends on susceptibility (e.g. asthmatics will be more prone to react to aerosol compounds), frequency of use, ventilation etc. However, over time, many people will experience at least some of the following allergy-type symptoms:

  • Itchy, red eyes
  • Stuffy noses and sneezing
  • Rashes
  • Tight chest / shortness of breath
  • Coughing
  • Dizziness and lack of co-ordination
  • Tiredness and depression

That ‘common cold’ you keep getting might just be thanks to all the cleaning products under the sink!

In severe cases, these chemicals can cause:

  • Asthma attacks
  • Nosebleeds
  • Dermatitis
  • Chronic Eczema
  • May cause Cancer
  • VOCs can build up in your liver and kidneys

However, there are now many eco-friendly cleaning products on the market that are health-friendly too. Free of the caustic substances and solvents that can cause irritation, and the VOCs that can build up in your system over the long term, but no less effective as cleaning agents.

BlueStream specialises in finding environmentally acceptable solutions to all oil, diesel, petroleum, grease and fat problems.

 

 

How your business can help the environment

How your business can help the environment

by | Dec 7, 2020 | Our Environment

Every business is going to have an impact on the environment. Though the specific impact varies greatly within industries, and so therefor the solutions, there is one environmental impact shared by every business -the effects of what your office, restaurant or workshop puts down the drain.

This is one area where you can make an immediate positive change.

Most ‘traditional cleaning products’ are bad for the environment. Harsh chemical in cleaning products may do the job, but they get flushed into sewer systems. From there, they contribute to pollution of waterways, dams, and the ocean.

Cleaning must be done, but there are alternative eco-friendly cleaning products on the market now. These make it possible for every business to lessen its impact on the environment.

Environmentally friendly solvent-free cleaning chemicals for your business:

1. Degreasers – for general purpose and ‘specific application’. Form dishwashing liquid to truck engine wash. You can now get eco degreasers that do the job as well as ever. In some cases better. These environmentally friendlier products do not use the traditional solvents, acids, other caustics, parabens, and other substances that do not biodegrade and would poison water supplies and the ground. As a bonus, they are not corrosive, and they are better for your health too.

2. Pipe and drain cleaners. Commonly known to be dangerous caustic substances for humans, they have traditionally been just as dangerous for the environment. Innovation in eco-friendly heavy-duty cleaning has afforded us alternative drain cleaners that are less harsh but work just as well. They are solvent free, acid and paraben free, water-soluble, and 100% biodegradable.

3. In the age of Covid-19, hand and surface sanitisers are essential. This would normally add you the chemical load going down drains. However, eco-friendly sanitisers that are fully biodegradable are better for you and your employers, and for the environment.

Each business uses different products and has a different impact. To simplify matters, it’s worth investing in a consultation that would help you identify eco-alternatives to the cleaning products you use in your business.

What happens to untreated sewage?

What happens to untreated sewage?

by | Nov 23, 2020 | BioTreat, Our Environment

Ideally, all sewerage would be treated. However, the reality is that a huge amount of sewerage and wastewater remains untreated. This effluent contains solid human and other waste, tissue paper, chemical and greases such as cooking fat and oils.

This untreated sewerage ends up in groundwater, rivers and streams and dams, much of it, ultimately, in the ocean. In some areas, coastal sewerage goes straight into the ocean. This effluent can cause environmental devastation and can also pose a serious threat to human health.

The effects of untreated sewage on aquatic life:

Sewage can end up in the ocean from areas with no treatment infrastructure or aged and overburdened systems. Sewage spills into the sea are common occurrences in South Africa, polluting coastlines, smothering eco-systems, and killing sea-life. Just some of the impacts on raw sewage include:

  • Fertilisers in sewage encourages algae blooms in dams, rivers and estuaries and oceans. These can interfere with light and oxygen levels in the water, suffocating plants and fish.
  • Solid waste can smother plants and small aquatic animals. This can destroy food chains and lead to die-off of aquatic, wetland, and coastal ecosystems.
  • Micro-organisms can cause diseases in fish and other aquatic and marine life.
  • Greases, oils, and fats can also suffocate plants and animals in the water and starve their predators. It oils bird’s feathers and compromises their ability to fly, regulate body temperature, and to feed.

Dangers of untreated sewage for humans:

  • Sewage contains deadly bacteria such as e-coli. Contaminated water from rivers and dams can be fatal if ingested – whether directly or indirectly.
  • Damage to ecosystems can lead to devasting food and economic resources in coastal communities.

Natural solutions for Eco-friendly treatment of sewerage:

Luckily, there have been significant advancements in the field of environmentally friendly sewage and wastewater treatments. Specialised bacteria and vegetable microbes have been developed to rapidly digest solid waste, fats and oils and tissue paper. These treatments are available on both a commercial/industrial scale, in sewerage plants, and for domestic use in septic tanks and pit toilets.

The Importance of Eco-friendly Products

The Importance of Eco-friendly Products

by | Oct 8, 2020 | Our Environment

 The harsh chemicals traditionally used to clean may have done their jobs well, but they have also wreaked havoc on the environment – and on human health.

Eco-friendly products have been developed for everything from light domestic cleaning to industrial scale cleaning and effluent management, wastewater and sewage treatment, and oil spills. This is now a big industry in itself, with continual research and development of environmentally friendly and corrective solutions.

The importance of this cannot be underestimated. Eco friendly products are not only the responsible choice – they are the future of cleaning and waste treatment. If not already mandated by law, it will be.

Eco-friendly products – for home cleaning to sewage treatment:

  • Do not release additional pollutants in the environment, whether into air, soil, or water.
  • Some products can help the environment – e.g. water and sewage treatments with beneficial microbes and bacteria, including those that can ‘eat’ inorganic solid waste like toilet paper, and organic pollutants such as fats.
  • Traditional cleaning products often contain volatile compounds, e.g. chlorine. These are released into the air gasses, and can be hazardous to your health when breathed in.
  • Chemicals in traditional cleaning products can cause damage to marine and terrestrial life. They either destroy plants and kill animals directly, or they build up in plants and animal tissues and are passed on in the food chain.

Choose eco-friendly cleaning products and services and invest in a better future:

  • Eco-friendly cleaning products are essential if we want to prevent further catastrophic damage to the environment – especially the aquatic and marine environments.
  • They are also better for human health – directly, or indirectly through environmental benefits.

The more we dedicate ourselves to, and invest in, eco-friendly cleaning and clean-up products and solutions, the better. Apart from the direct impacts, we are investing in the development of even better, faster, and more effective products – for household cleaning to sewage and oil spills, to solid waste and other wastewater treatments.