Business With Integrity
We believe, that protecting the environment, conserving our limited resources and reducing our carbon footprint is fundamental to doing business with integrity. We are proud to incorporate award winning environmentally responsible best practices in our operations. We’re fortunate to live and work in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Respect for nature and sound business practices are integrated to benefit the environment and the customers we serve.
Our business is green at its core concept!
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. These fundamental practices—relatively new to the popular notion of responsible corporate citizenship—have been at the core of MediCleanse operations for more than 70 years. Our business is based on recycling reusable textiles. We compete directly against one-time use disposable towels, gowns, sheets and garments. The products we rent are re-used many times over, greatly reducing the amount of refuse that goes into landfills and reducing the volume of materials that must be manufactured and shipped.
We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.
– Native American Proverb
Award Winning Environmental Leadership.
Environmental Excellence Award Winner
Service Linen received statewide recognition for its environmental leadership by winning the Association of Washington Businesses Environmental Excellence Award for Environmental Excellence in Resource Conservation. AWB serves as both the state’s chamber of commerce and the manufacturing and technology association. The AWB’s Environmental Excellence Awards Program is a showcase for companies who successfully implement programs that demonstrate initiative in the area of environmental protection. Service Linen is honored to be one of the businesses leading in this area. Additionally, we are very proud to be one of the Washington Green 50 Award Winners chosen by Seattle Business Magazine for green our green conservation efforts.
Clean Green Certified
A TRSA Clean Green Certification recognizes industrial laundry companies that demonstrate responsible leadership in sustainability and conservation to protect the environment. The certification acknowledges our company’s continuing commitment to best environmental practices by improving efficiencies in water and energy conservation, and its adoption of best management practices for reusing, reclaiming and recycling resources.
Laundry ESP Founding Member
We are proud to be founding members of the LaundryESP (Laundry Environmental Stewardship Program). LaundryESP’s goals include quantifiable goals for reductions in water, energy, and washroom chemical usage. To implement LaundryESP member, companies have worked with EPA, local water treatment authorities, customers, trade groups, environmental groups, and other stakeholders to ensure its success.
Seattle Business Magazine’s Green 50 Award Winner
We are very proud to be one of the 2012 Washington Green 50 Award Winners chosen by Seattle Business Magazine for green actions resulting in a reduction of energy use by 27% and saving 20 million gallons of water yearly.
Environmental Stewardship Principals
We focus our environmental Stewardship in 4 areas
1. Resource Conservation
2. Waste Minimization
3. Purchasing products made from recycled goods.
4. Minimizing Fleet impacts
Some other specific measures we take to reduce our burden on the environment include:
- Recycling of cardboard and paper
- Software used to optimize our deliveries to conserve fuel
- Monthly analysis of chemical usage to prevent waste
- Recycling of hangers
- We use high efficiency lighting to reduce energy consumption
- Use of high-efficiency boiler and dryers
Resource Conservation
We recently took our commitment to the environment a big step further with the installation of the revolutionary new Milnor CBW® washer with Pulse Flow – the first machine of its kind in the Northwest. The new washer reduced our fresh water consumption by 60% to .8 gallon per pound saving over 20 million gallons of water a year.
Because there is significantly less water to heat, we use 20% less natural gas. Additionally, we use one-third less electricity because this machine produces the same output in fewer hours.
By using heat exchangers to remove heat from our wastewater and recovering boiler steam condensate we are able to reclaim 90% of the heat to warm incoming fresh water from 55.degrees to 87degrees.
We have made substantial annual investments in upgrading to more energy efficient washer, dryer, ironers, and tunnel finishers, reducing our overall energy consumption by 20% in the last 5 years significantly reducing our carbon footprint
Waste Minimization
Reduce. Re-use. Recycle.
Our waste stream is separated, contained, minimized and recycled or disposed of properly and responsibly.
When our wastewater is finally discharged into the sewer system, it is verified by rigorous testing to meet county and state standards. Based on the processes we use our wastewater effluent is well below our required limits.
We use only NPE and Phosphate free detergents eliminating harmful wastewater byproducts from our wastewater stream..
Minimizing Fleet Impacts
We monitor vehicle performance through advanced maintenance diagnostics minimize fuel consumption. Additionally, we utilize state of the art route optimization software to create more efficient routes reducing miles driven thereby reducing fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Finally the majority of our trucks now use DEF to reduce emissions.
Purchasing
Our suppliers are a big part of our sustainability efforts. We are committed to purchasing product with recycled content when available.
Most products we provide have a polyester content. In many cases, this polyester is made from recycling plastic bottles. The bottles are ground into plastic chips which are then melted down and extruded into polyester fiber that are then made into napkins, table linen, aprons and the fiber top of mats. Additionally many of the paper products we provide are made with recycled content.
