A friend to the environment

Environment 2000

In the fight to introduce “politi

cally correct” and environmen tally-friendly products to the Pacific, the biggest stumbling block has always been education.

Many consumers in the region have become so accustomed to using harsh chemicals that re-education about health and safety is needed. One company that has begun developing the market for environ

mentally-friendly products, especially con

cerning cleansing and odour control, is ANOTEC. Based in Lautoka, on the west ern side of Viti Levu in Fiji, ANOTEC is the shortened version of Anosmia Technologies - which relates to smell.

Rather than use harsh chemicals for hard cleaning and odour-control jobs, the com pany introduced natural, non-toxic and safe products made from plant oils. The compa ny says it’s most important role is to “main tain an awareness for the environment, par ticularly in public health and safety”.

The company focuses seriously on cam paigns in schools “because they are respon sible for teaching our children - our leaders of the future - about environmental aware ness”. In March this year, ANOTEC creat ed an economy school pack of detergent and odour management products for schools.

Needless to say the company is very excit ed with the positive response from the school principals and staff saying it was “very encouraging to note that the schools are very supportive of ANOTEC’s role in environment awareness”. The School Pack includes Fresh And Clean, a multi-purpose

non-soap cleaner that has its own odour neutraliser built in; Bin Fresh, which is suit able for cleaning up toilets and other areas where there may be heavy smells; and New Fresh, a mild odour neutraliser suitable for areas such as classrooms, libraries, offices, and halls. As well as focusing on schools, ANOTEC service areas such as sewage treatment facilities, pumping stations, meat processing plants, and the transport and hospitality industries. Recently, the compa ny installed the first Computerised Water Conditioner at the Lautoka Hospital in western Fiji. ANOTEC says the Calclear Water Conditioner eliminates the problems of limescale from the plumbing system and will save the hospital thousands of dollars in chemicals annually. It is the latest addi tion to their range of environmentally friendly products, which not only softens water supply but progressively de-scales all boilers, pipes, appliances and equipment connected to it. The ANOTEC technology is Australian but more than 50 per cent of the bottling and packaging is done in Fiji.

The liquid concentrate is imported to Fiji in bulk where it is mixed, bottled and labelled. The labels and two-litre bottles are produced in Fiji.

The company is a firm supporter of the Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand. Introduced to Fiji at the end of 1995, the company believes ANOTEC Environmental Products will play an impor tant part in Fiji and the region, particularly in public health and safety, as we move towards the 21 st century. ■