Emterra Hand Sanitizer a win on all fronts

August 18, 2020

To help combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian Liquids Processors (CLP) started producing the Emterra Hand Sanitizer. The response has been overwhelmingly positive!

"Our original intent was to make something for our own employees and their families, since we wanted to make sure that they were safe and looked after during these difficult times," says Paulina Leung, VP of Corporate Strategy and Business Development. "Waste and recycling is an essential service and our employees need to continue to work in a safe environment."

However, once we realized the severity of the situation around us (especially for those in our supply chains like transportation) and that we had the means to support expanded production, we knew we had to put on our figurative capes and help others too. As such, getting government approval became our top priority.

So how exactly are we doing it? CLP processes and recycles unsaleable alcohol and sugar-based beverages. These liquids are evaluated, de-packaged, fermented and distilled. In the end, we produce a 96 per cent ethyl alcohol. And, of course, all of the product packaging is recycled.

It’s a circular economy product, transforming products that seemingly had no value and we are giving it a second chance. We are the only company in Canada taking waste liquids and turning it into a hand sanitizer.

“Getting the formulation down until we found the right mixture was the tricky part,” explains Sean O’Neill, General Manager at CLP. “We had to retool part of our operation to accommodate the new packaging and adapt it to quickly bottle, label and distribute the product. We went through Health Canada and WHO standards to create something that met government regulations. We’re extremely proud of the end result.”

The Emterra Hand Sanitizer boasts an 80 per cent ethyl alcohol concentration, making it a safe and effective antibacterial skin disinfectant. It is available in several different sizes, including a 500 mL personal-sized bottle, 4 L jug and 1,000 L tote suitable for industrial sites and for refilling smaller bottles. As part of Emterra Group’s Community Care™ Program, 10 per cent of our hand sanitizer production is donated, including Hamilton EMS and Clean Farms in Ontario and the Anarchist Mountain Fire Department in Osoyoos, British Columbia. We've also donated to the Ronald McDonald House in Hamilton and Cancer Assistance Programs. 

“Our fire department in British Columbia had to suspend our medical First Responders program because we couldn't purchase the proper personal protection equipment (PPE). One item that has been impossible to find locally is hand sanitizer,” said Urs Grob, fire chief at Anarchist Mountain Fire Department. “Through a donation of sanitizer from CLP, we will now have this essential PPE product so that we can resume our program to care for our residents and respond to medical emergencies in our coverage area. Thank you, CLP.”

“It’s funny, you really don’t realize what you have until you have to think outside of the box. We never would have thought we would be creating hand sanitizer until we needed it,” adds Sean. “We created goodness in a time of crisis and due to the unprecedented demand, stumbled upon a new product!”

Emterra's hand sanitizer is now available for commercial purchasing in Emterra's store, https://www.emterra.ca/products/hand-sanitizer. It is also available in smaller quantities for consumers at  https://www.reclaimclean.com/products/hand-sanitizer. 

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