Eco-Schools has teamed up with 3663 and Delphis Eco to reduce water pollution across England. This partnership will encourage schools to investigate the way they use chemicals and make a switch to ecological cleaning products.

Chemical use is one of the primary sources of water pollution across the UK and cutting out or changing to eco-products is an important step in environmental leadership.

In schools, chemical use in cleaning and catering departments is often over-looked area, and doesn’t get the attention it deserves. However, it’s become a focus for us. We want to encourage you to start using ecological cleaning chemicals as part of your continued drive to minimise your negative impact on the environment, most notably the water system.

Over time this will constitute an increasingly important factor to our annual reviews and awards. As an Eco-School, we know you are part of a committed and growing group of leaders and we hope that you can use this offer.

More about the products

The cleaning products are supplied by Delphis Eco, the only UK company to produce ecological chemicals for the commercial sector (and the first to be awarded the respected EU Eco-label). The products:

• have a cost in use that is probably less than the ones you buy now
• are highly effective and simple to use
• are award winning as the cleanest, greenest products on the market
• are multi-tasking; products are designed to do more than one job so frequently schools can reduce the range they buy so they get fewer invoices
• are environmentally friendly, so they're gentle on our waterways and rivers and of course the staff who use them!
• can be delivered frequently, so you don't have to store large amounts at school

Download the current products list.

How to order
 
Delphis Eco products are sold by 3663 – who may already deliver food and other items to your school. From 21 May 2012 onwards, 3663 will be calling their existing contacts in Green Flag and Silver Award Eco-Schools and will ask them if they would like to make a change in cleaning products to those from Delphis Eco. 

However, this offer isn’t only available to Green Flag and Silver Award schools that are already 3663 customers.  If you would like to be part of this “Green Deals” evolution, you could champion making the change by speaking to your school kitchen, cleaner, caretaker, janitor or outside cleaning company and encouraging them to start using cleaning products that are kinder to the environment. 

Make the change now!  Ring 0370 366 3000 to find out where your nearest 3663 depot is so that you can put your order in right away. 

If you find you are not in a 3663 delivery area, you can order your products directly through the Delphis Eco Website.

Green up your Cleanup

To thank you for your support of the programme, the first 100 schools to start buying Delphis Eco products will be put into a prize draw – with 15 schools being randomly selected to receive £100 to spend on delivering their Eco-Committee action plans.

In addition to this, and in response to our survey last year where many of you said that you wanted more help encouraging other staff members to become involved with Eco-Schools, Delphis Eco and 3663 will be offering fantastic rewards and prizes to schools who show leadership in tackling water issues over the course of the year.

Watch this space for more information.

Please contact Eco-Schools on 01942 612634 or eco-schools@keepbritaintidy.org if you have any questions and good luck with winning £100 for your school!

You’ll be in good company

In the first phase of a highly successful trial of 31 schools in Hertfordshire, 91% of them thought Delphis Eco products were either better or the same in cost and effectiveness than their current non ecological products. As a result of the successful trial, the Purchasing Manager for Hertfordshire County Council has already rolled out the programme to 253 schools and wants to roll it out to all 460 schools within her remit. On final review, Delphis Eco products proved to offer a significant cost saving to schools, among many other benefits.  

Hertfordshire based Howe Dell, a Green Flag school, was one of the first schools to be trialled.  Howe Dell’s Head Chef said:

“We like Delphis Eco products because they are cost neutral relative to our previous products, just as effective and gentler on the cleaning staff who stopped having skin irritations. At the end of the trial we had achieved a 42% reduction in our product range, which of course meant more space in the kitchen and less time spent on administration. The benefit of the products being made in Britain and delivered alongside our food also decreased our carbon footprint. Obviously this also gives us an edge as a Green Flag school and helps us achieve our leading status”.

Read the Hertfordshire and Howe Dell School case study

The eco-innovative Ashley School in Surrey is also using Delphis Eco products:

“Delphis Eco products are competitively priced and do a great job. They support the school’s eco credentials by being plant-based with refillable bottles that we can re- use. For us, Delphis Eco ticks all the boxes and we would strongly recommend them to other organisations." – Head Teacher, Ashley School, Surrey.

Linking your green procurement back to the curriculum

Eco-Schools have developed several exciting lesson ideas to help educate pupils about cleaning products and their potential impact on the environment, specifically the water cycle. Have a look and download them for free now.