An Untapped Opportunity for Infection Prevention: Health Care Disinfectant Wipes That Help Deliver on Performance and Sustainability Goals.

In this Q&A with Infection Control Today^® (ICT^®), Ecolab’s interdisciplinary team—Jessica DeMay, MBA, wipes portfolio marketing manager; Karoline Sperling, MPH, ASCP, CIC, FAPIC, professional clinical services manager; and Melissa Martinez Crowley, NEHA, lead chemist, North America health care wipes program manager—explains how disinfectant wipes represent an untapped opportunity for hospitals to reduce single-use plastic waste. By rethinking wipe materials, hospitals no longer need to choose between sustainability and infection prevention. They can achieve both.

ICT: Sustainability is a central focus in health care, with plastic reduction being a key area of focus; how much plastic is attributed to disinfecting wipes themselves?

Ecolab’s interdisciplinary team: The reality is that while the packaging does contribute to plastic waste, it’s the wipes themselves that drive the majority of the plastic.

Based on product specifications and calculations, in disinfectant canisters, the wipes are 58% of the total plastic,¹ and in refill bags used in refillable bucket formats, the wipes are 94% of the total plastic.¹

ICT: Put that plastic usage into perspective. How much plastic are we talking about on an annual basis?

Ecolab’s interdisciplinary team: Based on health care disinfecting wipes sales data at the individual product level, we estimate that each year, North American health care facilities use enough plastic disinfecting wipes to circle the globe 58 times.² This plastic adds up very quickly because ready-to-use wipes are so widely used—from hospitals, clinics, and surgery centers to patient rooms, operating rooms, and common areas.

ICT: Are those in the health care field aware that wipes are made of plastic? And if not, what’s the reaction when people find out?

Ecolab’s interdisciplinary team: Based on our interactions with health care workers and decision-makers, awareness is low. At APIC’s ‘The Pitch’ in 2024, 81% of the audience—composed of APIC members and infection preventionists—were unaware that wipes are made of plastic.

Intuitively, people know that the packaging is plastic—the canister, bucket, or bag that the wipes come in—but most don’t make the connection that the wipe itself is plastic. This makes disinfectant wipes an often-overlooked contributor to health care’s single-use plastic footprint.

Many are surprised to learn wipes are made of plastic. Health care workers rely on disinfecting wipes to keep surfaces clean and disinfected. When they realize wipes are plastic, you can see them processing the magnitude of how many wipes they’re using as part of their daily work.

ICT: Why did Ecolab decide to develop a plastic-free disinfectant wipe?

Ecolab’s interdisciplinary team: The majority of disinfectant wipes force hospitals to choose between sustainability and performance—and Ecolab believed that compromise was unnecessary.

The goal was to address a major, everyday source of single-use plastic by removing plastic from the wipe material itself, not just reducing packaging.

By rethinking what wipes are made of, hospitals can reduce a pervasive source of single-use plastic—while meeting environmental hygiene goals.

ICT: What are the benefits of a plastic-free wipe?

Ecolab’s interdisciplinary team: The most obvious benefit of Ecolab’s Disinfectant 1 Wipe with plastic-free wipes³ is environmental, reducing single-use plastic usage by not putting plastic wipes that take hundreds of years to break down into the environment. That said, the benefits are bigger than this and extend into performance and operations.

Performance-wise, because the wipe is made from wood-pulp fibers, it has a cloth-like feel and is highly absorbent, which helps provide enhanced surface coverage. During blinded user research,⁴ health care workers consistently commented positively about the surface coverage, expressing that it streamlines their disinfection process because they didn’t need to go back and grab as many wipes.

The performance benefits then translate into operational benefits. In 2 real-world case studies within surgical/operating room settings, facilities saw 36% reductions in wipe usage compared to alcohol-based plastic wipes with a 1-minute contact time,⁵ and a 60% reduction in wipe usage vs. alcohol-based plastic wipes with a 2-minute contact time.⁶ This translates to less waste, lower costs, and reduced environmental burden.

Ecolab is excited to partner with health care facilities to reduce single-use waste from wipes while providing disinfecting performance essential to infection prevention and safety.

Footnotes:

1. 58% calculation based on a 6” x 6.75” wipe, with 34 gsm substrate, 160 wipes per canister, and a combined canister lid mass of 100g. 94% calculation based on a commercially available refill bag with XL plastic-wipe: 11" x 12” size wipe, with 34 gsm substrate, 160 wipes/refill bag, bag mass of 30 g.
2. Based on DRG 2023 health care disinfecting wipes sales data at the individual SKU level. Multiplying the total wipes sold by SKU x the wipe length of the individual SKUs. Divided the total length by the circumference of the earth.
3. Wipe material plastic-free (packaging is plastic). Refer to EPA Reg. No. 1677-263 for directions. Click for disclosures - ecolab.com/PFD1Wipe
4. Blinded health care worker research was conducted in 2 geographies in 2025. Health care workers were compensated for their time but did not know that Ecolab was the study's sponsor. Brand labels were hidden or removed from packaging during the testing.
5. Research conducted over 4 weeks in an OR demonstrated a 36% reduction in wipes used when compared to the market-leading alcohol-based health care disinfectant wipe with a 1-minute contact time. Actual results will vary based on operating conditions. Ecolab research available upon request.
6. Research conducted over 4 weeks in an OR demonstrated a 60% reduction in wipes used when compared to the market-leading alcohol-based health care disinfectant wipe with a 2-minute contact time. Actual results will vary based on operating conditions. Ecolab research available upon request.