It's no secret that the raw material for our cleaning products is wastewater, which we recycle through a series of special processes. Here we would like to show you the process!
Many people think of waste water as a worthless by-product. However, the sludge produced during water treatment is very expensive to treat in wastewater treatment plants, while containing valuable minerals and compounds.
It may be common knowledge that biogas can be produced from sewage sludge. Bacteria start to break down the biomass under controlled conditions, producing various substances and eventually methane. CYCLE researchers have found that if the process is interrupted at a certain point, before gas formation, during the acidification phase (when the bacteria produce a mixture rich in organic acids), valuable acids such as acetic acid and fatty acid can be extracted.
The acid-rich mixture (permeate) is then distilled down to drinking water purity. Although bacteria do the most important work, the distilled water must go through several stages, and the particularly unpleasant smelling acids are extracted before it can be said to be ready. Soaps, citric acid and essential oils are added to the final mixture.
We also carry out laboratory tests to check that there are no contaminants in the finished detergents, meaning that by the time the product is in the bottle, it has undergone a series of quality checks. One of these, for example, is a stability test, which means that the liquid is tested under both hot and cold conditions. We check whether or not it still smells, whether or not it still foams, whether or not the phases have separated. We also carry out efficiency tests because, as well as being environmentally friendly, it's also very important that our products actually work.
The end result is an effective and environmentally friendly cleaning product that smells good, contains no harmful chemicals or toxic substances, but is strong enough to tackle a wide range of dirt.
In CYCLE products, not only the active ingredient, but also the water is 100% recycled, just like the bottle, which is made from recycled PET bottles. We chose recycled plastic because we felt it best reflected the philosophy behind the company.
All of our products animal experiment freecruelty free, i.e. Leaping Bunny certified.
Source: the Conscious Shopper
