Hillbrush brushes up on its cser with plastic bottle filaments

As part of its Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibilities (CSER), Hillbrush, the UK’s largest manufacturer of brushes and specialist cleaning tools has replaced the coco fibre used in several of its traditional brushes, with a new fibre material made from recycled plastic bottles.

The new polyester PET monofilament, sourced from Beira in Sri Lanka is made from bottles, many of which are washed up on the beach, which are separated from their polypropylene caps, then the plastic cut up into small granules. Much of these plastic granules goes for extrusion for premium brand trainer production, while the rest is extruded into brush monofilaments.

As well as the environmental benefits, Hillbrush claims that the wear properties of the PET monofilament are better than its coco counterpart, not only making it more durable, but retaining its brush sweeping characteristics too.

While coco fibre has traditionally been used in brush manufacture due to its low cost and sustainable source, many of the methods used in its processing for use as a brush component pose significant health risks for operators, from the creation of a great deal of dust during brush manufacture through to black dye used on the coco.

Use of the PET monofilament rather than natural coco also means far more efficient brush production in the factory since it is far cleaner to use.