Buyers of office and wheelie bin liners are now protected by the Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association’s (CHSA) quality guarantee.
Lorcan Mekitarian, Chair of the CHSA, explained: “Buyers of office and wheelie bin liners are now protected by the same guarantees enjoyed by buyers of FFP (Fit for Purpose) and OTH (Other) plastic refuse sacks. Wherever they see the CHSA Accreditation Scheme mark, they can be certain the quality matches the specification.”
Wheelie and office bin liners are often sold as light, medium and heavy duty. The CHSA has defined those duties and implemented a minimum net weight (MNW) to guarantee the duty referred to on the label. Buyers can now be certain they get what they pay for.
MNW is specified according to size, thickness and quantity. The MNW is the weight of the liners alone in a case. It does not include the box or any other packaging. As an example, the minimum net weight of light duty Pedal Bin Liners for a quantity of 500 liners is specified as up to 1kg. For medium duty, the weight is 1-2kg and for heavy duty it is 2kg or over.
The Accreditation Scheme for Manufacturers of Plastic Sacks now has three streams:
- Fit for Purpose (FFP): covering performance-rated plastic refuse sacks, this category guarantees they are fit for purpose and of the highest quality. Products are Drop Tested to the weight on the label. It also guarantees the dimensions and count are as indicated on the label.
- Liners (LIN): covering office bin liners and wheelie bin liners, this category guarantees the duty referred to on the label is accurate and in accordance with the minimum net weight specified by the CHSA. It also guarantees the dimensions and count are as indicated on the label.
- Other (OTH): covering all other sacks and liners including low-volume made-to-order plastic sacks, this category guarantees the dimensions and count are as indicated on the label.
The CHSA operates six Accreditation Schemes. They are for manufacturers of paper-based and woven products, plastic-based products, cotton-based products, and cleaning chemicals, for general manufacturers and for distributors of cleaning and hygiene products.
The integrity of the schemes is underpinned by Independent Inspection. The Inspector conducts approximately 150 audits every year, checking about 4,000 individual products. Members’ quality assurance processes and product quality are checked, confirming ‘what’s in the box is what’s on the box’.
