Sustainability from the ground up

Lee Fox, Director of Global Business Development and Key Accounts for Kleen-Tex, discusses how Facilities Managers can improve the environmental efficiency of their building by installing a dedicated combination of floor matting systems.

Over the last two years, the pandemic has had a significant impact on the sustainability of facilities’ operations due to the sharp uptake in single use cleaning and protective equipment.

Focusing on floor matting in particular, facilities are currently transitioning away from PVC manufactured products to high performance nylon ranges that offer improved dirt and moisture capture.

The Kleen-Tex Super-Mat heavy duty matting system features a 100% nitrile rubber backing and is constructed from 100% Econyl fibres, a regenerated nylon textile composed of man-made ocean and landfill waste, including abandoned fish nets. By installing PVC free flooring matting systems such as this, professionals can successfully increase the use of recycled materials throughout their building and evidence the sustainability of their procurement throughout the entire supply chain.

While procuring flooring matting systems manufactured from recycled materials will be a leading consideration for professionals, it is crucial that the products do not compromise the overall performance and lifecycle of the product.

Implementing successful specification

To successfully fulfil requirements for improved longevity and durability, adopt a long-term approach to procurement by specifying high performance systems that deliver increased functionality and resilience to eliminate the costly and inefficient requirement for repeat purchasing.

Products such as Kleen-Tex’s EcoAbsorb entrance matting system, which features 50% recycled nylon yarn that requires 47% less energy consumption throughout the production process, when compared to standard yarn. The mat also produces 35% less CO2 emissions throughout the manufacturing process, in addition to a 30% reduction in water.

However, it is the product’s efficiency with regard to its ongoing maintenance that offers the most significant benefits. Achieving 37% faster drying times, when compared to standard cotton mats during laundry cycles, the matting system saves valuable energy, time and money throughout laundry sequences, while a five year manufacturer’s guarantee that facilities can easily meet increased levels of footfall without impacting on performance.

Professionals must also ensure they are considering each specific application throughout their building to ensure they install the correct matting system in the appropriate location.

This application led approach to specification will aid the overall efficiency of the building’s operations by ensuring the correct product is installed in the right location to fulfil its purpose.

Focusing on the entrance of a building in particular, without an effective matting system, 42% of a floor’s finish across the first 1.8 metres of the entrance can be worn away by just 1,500 people walking across it. This demonstrates the importance, particularly for high trafficked areas, to install and maintain dedicated floor matting systems that adequately capture moisture, dust and debris to prevent it from entering a building to not only achieve the highest levels of cleanliness and safety, but support a reduction in long-term cleaning routines, facilitating a decrease in the level of chemicals required.

The Kleen-Tex Green-Horse floor matting system offers FMs a fully serviceable product that delivers shorter drying times and higher heat resistance. The PVC free construction also includes a pile manufactured from recycled PET bottles that delivers great dirt capture properties to successfully trap dirt and moisture to capture it before it has the opportunity to be tracked throughout a building.

With the 2050 deadline to meet the government’s net zero targets fast approaching, facilities can successfully improve the sustainability of their current and future operations by adopting a long-term approach to the specification and installation of environmentally efficient floor matting systems that increase durability and longevity and reducing cleaning requirements.

For further information on Kleen-Tex’s range of sustainable matting solutions, visit www.kleen-tex.co.uk or call 01204 705070.

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