Lockdown litterbugs who left a popular beauty spot covered in plastic rubbish started a business on a green quest that’s led to a range of new, innovative, environmentally friendly commercial cleaning products.
EnviroShot is the first in a new range of sustainable products from Shorrock Trichem, a leading hygiene product, services and equipment supplier. The range has been designed to reduce usage of single-use plastics and help cut the amount of waste going to landfill.
Duncan Fishwick, Founder and Managing Director of Atherton, Greater Manchester-based Shorrock Trichem, invested £250,000 developing the newly launched range. A keen country walker, he started the business on the search for innovative and environmentally friendly products after being shocked by the damage being caused by non-recyclable products and packaging during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over a single weekend during lockdown, it was reported that a staggering three tons of waste had been collected from one of his favourite walking spots, Beacon Fell Country Park in Lancashire – most of which was destined for landfill. The result of his work is a range of dehydrated versions of popular cleaning products, turned into small dissolvable capsules. Add a capsule to a trigger bottle or mop bucket filled with water, stir, and start cleaning.
All the packing in the EnviroShot range is fully compostable and its trigger sprays and bottles are designed to be used time and time again to prevent unnecessary plastic wastage. Because of its light weight, EnviroShot uses up 95% less fuel in transport when compared to liquid products, reducing the carbon footprint throughout the supply chain. All the products in the range are also vegan and have 100% biodegradable formulas.
Duncan said: “The report of the mess left on Beacon Fell really shocked me and really underlined in my mind the real importance of a sustainable future. Non-recyclable products and packaging are destroying the very beauty that we admire by piling walkways, roads, and landmarks full of rubbish. Although we’re not all responsible for the damage, we all have a part to play in putting this right.”
In the UK it’s estimated that 5m tonnes of plastic is used every year, nearly half of which is packaging. The UK is also one of the biggest producers of plastic waste in the world, second only to the US.
Duncan’s aim was to source products that didn’t heavily involve single-use plastic, to lower carbon emissions and store ingredients and finished products in environmentally-friendly packaging. That led him to the discovery that by dehydrating cleaning products and wrapping them in water-soluble capsules, a more environmentally friendly range of products could be created.
To support the vision, Shorrock Trichem recruited a new team of like-minded people with a dedicated focus on creating a strong, eco-friendly brand. The result is EnviroShot, with more green products in the pipeline.
Duncan added: “We have a responsibility to provide our customers with innovative and sustainable products. The next generation is now coming into the business, including my son, with other second-generation employees. That drives the importance of sending the business in a sustainable direction as we think about what we are leaving behind for them.”
Founded in 2000, family business Shorrock Trichem is the largest independent company in its sector.
The business employs more than 280 workers and supplies customers across the North of England. The EnviroShot range includes trigger sprays, floorcare products, dishwasher tabs and laundry pods, and offers a range of professional products to suit most commercial applications.
