Paul Hamilton, technical director at Regenex, wrote this piece for the Cleaning and Maintenance news site. Here it is in full.

Regenex has been in business for almost seven years now as a trusted partner to the laundry industry. And from the outside looking in, we have a unique perspective on just how much has changed.

Attitudes to looking after business, in terms of both staffing and resources, has advanced apace. Before the pandemic, laundry bosses used to ‘do their duty’ for the environment by recycling old textiles for rag, rather than sending them straight to landfill.

And often they didn’t look too closely at who was deployed doing what, and whether it was a good use of their time.

This article talks about efficiency of resources and staffing – things and people – and the new art of treating both very thoughtfully, as the precious assets they are.

I’ll start with my freshest thinking based on what I’ve seen on my travels lately regarding resources before turning my attention to personnel.

Why recycling is not the answer

All laundries need linen stock, that’s constantly checked and refreshed. But what happens when those textiles are no longer fit for purpose? The answer to this used to be to recycle it.

But in 2025, recycling as a go-to solution – a way to tick the ‘green box’ – seems increasingly old fashioned, as the business world rightly demands we all do better.

Yes, of course, recycling still has a place in the management of waste. But it should not be a first-choice for textiles, or any other consumable or unwanted commodity, that could still be fit for a new use without resorting to another round of processing.

It’s often forgotten that recycling typically requires another round of water, and carbon emissions – the process of turning the material into something else. This part of the picture really can cast shade on careful waste disposal methods.

Re-use as a go-to solution

Re-use is a far preferable concept. At Regenex, we’re invariably talking about linen that, if it wasn’t ripped or stained, would be good for many more washes, but the principle is quite universal.

After not using the earth’s resources to manufacture something at all, re-using that item for as long as possible is the next best option.

Aside from limiting or delaying recycling processes, re-use reduces the need for new items, be they textiles or anything else, in line with the Hierarchy of Waste Management’s cautioning against unnecessary manufacture.

The wonder of thriftiness

At Regenex we’ve always tried to enthuse others to be thrifty and get the most out of every precious bedsheet or pillowcase. This rather timeless ‘waste not, want not’ notion is more relevant than ever, moving into a sharper and more immediate focus.

Why? Well, there are two key reasons for this. First is all ethical businesses’ increasing interest in environmental policy. Second is the rising cost of everything and the need to save money. These two concerns are interlinked because ‘green’ companies find it easier to come by loyal, repeat custom and reliable, encouraging investors.

An additional forthcoming cost implication is that at some point in the near-ish future, the outlay involved in collection, sorting, recycling and disposal of all textiles is likely to rise significantly.

There is a lot of talk at the moment about EPR, or extended producer responsibility – an amendment to the EU Waste Framework Directive (WFD) that’s progressing fast and certain to prompt important change for any business that deals in textiles.

A final draft of the new rules is expected soon, then EU member states will have 18 months to set up their own schemes and the UK is expected to follow.

Greater costs associated with landfill

While EPR is not a new concept, this latest legislation will involve the billing of operators for costs associated with the end-of-life management of products. All costs will fall on one company in the supply chain, typically the importer, so in a laundry’s case it would be them as the firm that holds and manages the stock.

We can only speculate what costs might be, but the intention to cut textile waste and support circularity is a solid one that’s hard to argue with.

New and significant financial consequences of sending waste to landfill will be another incentive for laundries and others to focus on binning far less – if one were needed – and put robust sustainability principles into everyday practice.

An opportunity rather than a threat

Of course, the smart attitude is to view EPR as an opportunity rather than a threat – fresh impetus to waste nothing.

We’re seeing that looking after resources and working as efficiently as possible is emerging as a major theme of 2025, with lower outgoings a welcome benefit of ordering less and making the most of every item of stock.

This goes hand in hand with careful deployment of staff, too – another change in attitude that we’re seeing among our customers.

The UK Textile Services Association’s cost index produced once a quarter is always a yardstick for the sector’s fortunes and a notable figure in the latest round is the huge increase in labour costs.

People are precious in UK laundries

Staffing costs have risen by 28.4% over the last three years, due to factors including wage increases. They continue to make up the single biggest expense for any contract laundry group at 40% of expenditure.

Personnel are every laundry’s greatest asset, and owners and managers naturally try to pay them as well as they can. Humans certainly are precious, yet many laundries are still frittering staff time on linen that will not reach client standards.

This is the flip side of trying to make the most of resources. Continued processing of stained or discoloured linen, to be ultimately discarded, carries a significant cost – especially when the expense of transporting such pieces, and further staff time among housekeepers tasked with sorting and rejecting them, is factored in.

Yet it’s easy and relatable to see how this happens. A couple of bedsheets here is easy to overlook and seems like it won’t make a huge difference.

When keeping linen is counterproductive

When it’s considered that a heartbreaking 55% of hospitality linen is discarded before it is six months old, according to the TSA, good intentions to keep items out of the bin could be seen as laudable.

Yet unsuitable stock is clogging up laundry systems – causing an additional drain on fuel, water, energy and chemicals – at a time when the sector, and indeed the planet, can ill afford it … bringing us back to the carbon footprint question.

Savvy operators realise this – and it’s why Regenex has grown as a business so rapidly. More and more are carefully isolating marked or greying linen and sending it to Regenex. ‘Bad’ linen is only bad until we make it good again, using methods that ‘kill or cure’ is no match for.

To sum up, times are hard for the hospitality and laundry sectors in 2025, with the rising cost of absolutely everything from utilities to staffing, and stock to fuel. The price of essentials sometimes creeps, at other times rockets. It may level off, but it doesn’t go down.

On top of that, there is the increasing difficulty of just throwing anything away, with the forthcoming ‘polluter pays principle’ of EPR.

Our tough trading climate begs the question, what can we do to help ourselves? The answer, as ever, is tighten up. Don’t waste anything or anybody – people and resources are precious.

Regenex can revive up to 80% of heavily marked or discoloured linen as long as it is not ripped or torn. Call Paul Hamilton on 07795 693345 or email paulhamilton@bulmerandlumb.com to find out more.