Solupak Ltd, members of Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, are pioneers in powdered cleaning products. They have been leading the field in eliminating single use plastics from cleaning products and removing water from the shipping process for more than a decade.​ 

With an in-house cradle-to-grave approach, the 18-person SoluPak team innovates new products, manufactures, and distributes from its single premises. The first to market in soluble cleaning products in the UK, SoluPak leads the way in sustainable cleaning at an industrial level.  

Based in Yorkshire, the SoluPak team is one with a shared set of ambitions, working together to achieve the best possible sustainability performance for the business and the industry. The in-house technical formulation and development team is always innovating to create new products. Manufacturing is all done on site in the UK as well as the concept, R&D, testing, manufacturing, packaging and distribution.​ 

Reducing carbon emissions​ 

In the last year, SoluPak has produced 3.7 million doses of soluble cleaning products, taking 2.2 million litres of water off the road, reducing carbon emissions from haulage by 99% – or 81,000 tonnes of CO2.​ For each of the products in the SoluCLEAN by SoluPak range, there is an associated dispensing product – a bottle4life. Made from recycled plastic, these bottles are designed to be used over and over again. They’re so good, SoluPak hasn’t had to replace one yet, though if they do, the materials are also fully recyclable, completing the product lifecycle as efficiently as possible.​ 

The SoluCLEAN products use 15kg less plastic per cleaner per year compared to dosing systems and 20kgs less plastic per cleaner per year than ready to use products.​ The cleaning industry’s dirty secret is the issue of chemical residues on plastic for recycling. Eliminating single use plastic from the supply chain provides a comprehensive solution, preventing contamination of recycling loads, reducing environmental contamination and ultimately reducing overall waste.​ 

SoluCLEAN products are distributed in water soluble sachets to end users, including hospitality, retail, education, catering, care and leisure businesses. Customers simply add water on site, shake to dissolve the product and then use it as they would any other cleaning product.​ 

Late 2022, SoluPak launched its innovative replacement for liquid dishwashing detergent. The new soluble SoluCLEAN alternative replaces the traditional 5l bottles with soluble sachets. A single pallet of SoluCLEAN dishwash replaces 6,592 5l liquid dishwash bottles, saving 1.6 tonnes of plastic per pallet.​ 

SoluPak proudly puts environmental sustainability at the heart of its business, relocating early in 2021, despite the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. The new, more efficient business premises is paying dividends. SoluPak halved energy use from 3000kwh in 2020/21 to 2000kwh in 2021/22.​ 

The new site is more accessible for the local workforce, and SoluPak has reduced staff transport, increased access to public transport and introduced car sharing.​ 

In 2021, SoluPak also became a Planet Mark certified business, intensely analysing environmental performance, including carbon activity, utilities, transport and waste. This analysis identifies opportunities for further improvement.