Led by managing director Louis Beaumont, Hive Cleaning has a clear set of sustainability and ethical values comprising an extraordinary level of service, immaculate cleaning, motivated staff and the use of innovative green technologies that offer environmental protection.

Louis explains: “As well as supporting the London Living Wage for all employees, we are also holders of the Planet Mark (TPM) Accreditation measuring our sustainability and social value. We carry out 100% aerosol free, non-toxic, eco-friendly cleaning, have a 100% electric fleet, powered by 100% renewable energy, and a zero to landfill policy.

“We also have an effective single-use plastic reduction strategy in place attaining Plastic Zero status in 2020 through the Plastic bank scheme to remove plastic from the great Atlantic garbage patch. This means some 1,224kg – the equivalent of 61,200 500ml bottles – were removed by us from our seas last year. This is then either recycled or processed to be turned into products in developing countries, which also creates employment in these locations too.

“In 2020 we cut our carbon use by 56%, reducing our company footprint to 2.2 tCO2, which we offset by planting trees to become the first TPM accredited company to become Carbon Neutral and Climate Positive.”

The 3,500 sq ft 60-cover restaurant installed the Toucan Eco cleaning system in January 2018 and now uses it to clean all areas of the front of house including table tops, glassware, windows and mirrors, fridges, furniture and restroom facilities.

In the kitchen, the system is also used to clean benches and worktops, and while chemical degreasers are still required on areas such as ovens, floors and the extraction canopy, Alex has seen an average total saving of £200 per month on the cost of chemical cleaning agents, as well as a huge saving on the volume of plastic waste.

For the front of house areas, the product is applied with microfibre cloths while centrefeed is used in the kitchens and food preparation areas where it must be disposable to comply with health and safety regulations.

Alex continued, “We had the confidence to try a new product and we were well aware of the benefits the Toucan Eco system offered. One of the best results we’ve seen is on our glassware, windows and any reflective surfaces as the finish is entirely streak-free and spotless. The approach of the cleaning system married with our intentions for the restaurant, so installing a more environmentally sound, cost-effective alternative made complete sense from the start.

“The staff have found the system easy to use and incredibly timesaving, which always helps at the end of a long shift. The results have exceeded our expectations and knowing we’re using considerably less chemical product and further reducing our plastic waste output is exactly what we set out to achieve,” Alex added.

Toucan Eco lets you take tap water and normal salt and, using a special form of electrolysis called electrochemical activation, makes a multipurpose disinfectant cleaning solution virtually on tap.

The models, which are available in a range of sizes depending on your business or domestic needs, makes a solution which is certified to EN antiviral and antibacterial tests to wipe out more than 99.99% of germs.

Its active compounds are hypochlorous acid (HOCl), which is also made by your immune system to fight infection, along with a very low concentration of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), producing a gentle pH of around 8. This creates a powerful, eco-friendly and safe solution that you make yourself on demand, reducing the need for over 80% of synthetic chemical cleaners and the single-use plastic bottles they are supplied in.