Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 16th October 2025 Issue no. 1182
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 International News
Products Service robots see global growth boom: cleaning robots show highest growth
BSCAI announces 2025 Clean Awards and Scholarship recipients
Navigate modern cleaning challenges with help from Tennant's free webinar series
Minnisota State Park has far more than ‘the bear necessities’ says Cintas
Comac Deutschland: a new subsidiary, a new beginning
Emcor Group to sell Emcor UK to OCS Group UK
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Welcome to the Cleanzine
Working from home as I have done since John Austen and I launched Cleanzine almost 23 years ago, I've learnt to compensate for the loss of office banter by having the radio keep me company. I try not to listen to the ads but sometimes I get drawn into them. One thing that has struck me is the number of special deals there are for those wishing to upgrade their mobile phones to the latest model, with more than a billion mobiles produced each year to cope with demand. The deals seem incredibly expensive to me and I can't understand why people bother; particularly when one considers how many hundreds of phones are stolen each day... £50 million-worth reported snatched in London alone during 2024 at the rate of one every eight minutes. Surely having a stand-out, newly released model just adds to the stress?
Something else I don't like is when technology - which we've probably paid a lot of money for, becomes obsolete. I've occasionally hung on to my computers for so long that they've becoming incapable of running the latest software, which has meant I've reluctantly taken them to the recycling centre and replaced them with a new model. But that's down to me and is something of a 'one-off', compared to the estimated 400 million computers likely to be dumped as a result of what’s been described as Microsoft's new 'arbitrary' system requirements for Windows, announced on Tuesday, which will, effectively, make them obsolete. 400 million… What’s that going to do to the environment? Prior to this announcement, the estimates were that there were 347 million tonnes of e-waste on our planet already – a figure expected to grow to 746 million tonnes by 2030. We don’t need Microsoft unnecessarily making things worse, do we?
I looked up arbitrary just to be sure and yes – it’s as damning as I’d first thought. Roget’s Thesaurus describes it as “capricious, erratic, frivolous, inconsistent, irrational, irresponsible and unreasonable”. Why do it then Microsoft? You can read more about the impact of the decision and the issues created by growing amounts of e-waste further down the page, (but be prepared to get angry!).
Fortunately, growing numbers of companies are gearing up to operate more ethically, and many are pushing for tech manufacturers in particular, to make components that are interchangeable so that those with plenty of life left in them, can be removed from otherwise obsolete hardware and used in the latest models. This is the way we simply have to go, if the marketing gurus are going to continue making us believe that unless we’re always showing off the latest technology, we’re somehow inferior to our peers…
This Week's News
ISSA appoints Kim Althoff executive director as John Barrett transitions to Emeritus role
This leadership transition marks a pivotal juncture for ISSA as it honours John’s 10 years of leadership and embraces a new chapter under Kim’s direction. Microsoft tips: Millions of PCs set for landfill after Windows Update, warns green tech pioneer
Thank Your Cleaner Day: Recognising the essential role of cleaning professionals
"Thank Your Cleaner Day is an important reminder to pause and show genuine appreciation for the people who work tirelessly to keep our spaces clean and safe. Too often, their efforts go unnoticed. Yet, without cleaning operatives, workplaces, schools, and hospitals simply couldn't function safely or efficiently. Interclean Shanghai 2025 – less than a week away
Key components of this year's event include:   BCC says 'better-targeted cleaning' is needed to reinforce new handwashing standards
Welcoming the hand washing standards as a firm foundation for providing safe and healthy facilities, the British Cleaning Council - the body representing the £67bn cleaning, hygiene and waste sector -has just published a new guidance framework to improve UK public health, save lives, protect the economy from billions of pounds lost every year in sickness absence and prevent thousands of school days being lost to pupil sickness annually. New robot floor cleaners respond dynamically to foot traffic in commercial spaces
This advanced system uses wireless people-counting sensors, strategically placed throughout facilities such as hotels, shopping centres and airports. These sensors feed data into BTek's proprietary BotBinder Hub, a cloud-based platform where all the intelligent decision making happens.  Built for big messes and bigger expectations: new Facility Pro pre-moistened Towelettes
With a large 8in. x 10in. size, 800 wipes per roll and a powerful cleaning and deodorising formula, the pre-moistened Towelettes are engineered to remove dirt, grime, sweat and odours from a wide variety of non-porous surfaces - vinyl, plastic, metal and finished wood among them. They offer efficient, residue-free cleaning in one simple step, ideal for high-traffic facilities, such as athletic clubs, educational and healthcare institutions, entertainment venues, hotels, offices, retail & grocery stores, transportation hubs and other settings. Sofidel further expands its production capacity in the US
The investment includes the installation of a Valmet TAD (Through-Air-Dried) paper machine with an annual production capacity of 75,000 metric tons, along with related converting lines - for an equivalent production capacity - for the manufacture of finished products.  Cleanology's annual charity fundraiser raises record £34,000 for The Hygiene Bank
Smart washrooms go live at Beijing Daxing International Airport
Earlier this year, the airport's property management team began with the needs of travellers and chose washrooms as a starting point to integrate Internet of Things (IoT) concepts into cleaning management. The goal: to build truly smart washrooms, giving passengers a tangible sense of accessible tech-driven services. The Cleanzine Archive Search We keep an extensive archive of news stories and product information that have featured in past issues of The Cleanzine. If you would like to run a search of the The Cleanzine web site using the search tool below please just go ahead by entering in the name of the person, product or company or any other key words that you are looking for. How to contact us at The Cleanzine:
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Our weekly updated Hospital Hygiene features current developments and product solutions cleaning and hygiene industry manufacturers are coming up with. Read More. Recent UK News
The unusable washroom - Tork and Publicis London spotlight barriers to inclusive hygiene
Genesis Biosciences continues team growth with new appointments
Gareth David appointed as head of sales at Robert Scott
Winners celebrate success at BICSc Awards
Why your operations managers shouldn't be carrying out cleaning
Chemanglia awarded Royal Warrant
Peartree Cleaning Services donates £5k to Essex Charity
Abacadabra! Loo of the Year Awards conjures up a smidgen more magic
Major refresh project underway on London’s overground stations
Events & Exhibitions Horecava The Cleaning Show Innovation Lab 2026 Clean-Tech Expo Cleaning Expo INTERCLEAN The Workplace Event |
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