Chemical-free sanitising wins Vic's Premier's Sustainability Award
Among the winners of the Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards are eWater Systems and Kingfield Galvanizing, which have been commended for their efforts to create a sustainable future.
Now celebrating its 15th year, the Premier’s Sustainability Awards recognise Victorians who promote sustainability by implementing measures to better manage their waste, water and energy.
Melbourne-based eWater Systems not only won the Innovative Products or Services category, but also took home the 2017 Premier’s Recognition Award for its chemical-free ‘water splitting’ technology used to clean and sanitise facilities such as hospitals, schools, manufacturing businesses and restaurants.
In the food industry, the ‘water-splitting’ technology can be used as an alternative to packaged chemicals that kills bacteria without impacting the taste of food. Last year, the company prevented seven million litres of chemicals from entering the supply chain and diverted 10 million plastic containers from landfills.
The technology also raised awareness of the negative impact chemicals can have on the environment and human health. Consequently, this provides businesses with safe technology that will ultimately help them maintain safety and meet sustainability targets.
eWater systems can be used to sanitise all types of food, kitchen equipment and surfaces — even in organic processing operations.
The systems work by electrolysis, which splits the water into positive and negative ions and creates two effective and safe solutions — the acidic, low pH solution is suitable for antimicrobial sanitising while the high pH, alkaline solution is an effective cleaner.
It is claimed that the antibacterial and fungicidal sanitiser is up to 80 times more effective at killing bacteria and pathogens such as E. coli and Salmonella than its chlorine-based competitors. And it does this with just five seconds of contact.
The cleaning solution is claimed to be a highly effective detergent and degreaser that can effortlessly break down oils and biofilms on all types of surfaces — from stainless steel benchtops and kitchen equipment to hand washing.
The water produced by the systems is non-toxic and hypoallergenic, does not require the use of goggles, gloves or HazChem signage and is much better for the environment.
Both standalone and reticulated systems are available and typical ROI is claimed to be just 2–3 years.
The Small and Medium Enterprises award was presented to Kingfield Galvanizing from Somerton for its new galvanising facilities that prevent emissions from entering the atmosphere. The company invested $20 million in the development of a large, automated galvanising plant that boasts some of the lowest emissions of any similar plant in the Southern Hemisphere.
Using an automated materials handling system, Kingfield Galvanizing produces up to 30,000 tonnes of product every year, which delivers more consistency and reduced consumption of chemicals and waste production.
The fully enclosed plant recycles and re-uses waste created from the galvanising process, reclaims heat from the furnace, recycles water within the plant and reduces energy consumption per tonne.
A protective zinc coating is applied to steel components to prevent corrosion and reduce maintenance requirements. This can help deliver long-life, sustainable performance for steel in exposed installations or marine environments and protects it from interacting with food products. Applications in the food industry include food storage racks, freezers, meat storage hooks, milk cans and chicken coops.
Other winners included: Exemplar Health, which won the Large Business category as well as the Premier’s Regional Recognition Award for its new hospital in Bendigo; Moreland City Council, which took home the Government award for the Moreland Urban Heat Island Effect Action Plan; and CERES, which won the education category for the Sustainability and Alternative Pathways.
Sustainability Victoria interim Chief Executive Stephanie Ziersch praised all of the winners for their efforts to protect the environment using sustainable practices.
“Victoria has an excellent track record of delivering innovative projects that benefit our environment and the community, particularly in relation to efficient waste management, resource recovery and new technologies for clean energy,” she said. “We congratulate all winners for paving the way.”
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