Certification scheme to help clean up car wash industry

REPUTABLE car wash operators will be given Kitemark-style certification marks to help crack down on modern slavery in the unregulated business.

The Responsible Car Wash Scheme, an industry and government-backed initiative, is launching today in a bid to target labour abuse as well as tackling environmental waste and pollution.

Following a pilot scheme last year, sites run by responsible employers who operate environmentally friendly car washes will be given a sign to display on their premises indicating to customers that they have passed a full audit.

It comes after the UK Modern Slavery Helpline last year received 493 reports of potential cases of labour exploitation at car washes, with 2,170 potential victims.

New research from the University of Nottingham and the Office of the Independent Anti-slavery Commissioner revealed last week that conditions of work vary significantly between sites, yet they found the average wage for a day’s work was £40.

They also reported the growing number of hand car washes, which have sprung up in petrol stations, car parks and empty forecourts across the UK, may have been allowed to proliferate as a result of inadequate enforcement of environmental policies.

Earlier this year the Environmental Audit Committee published evidence showing these sites were harming biodiversity and impairing water quality.

Car wash effluent generally contains phosphates, detergents, oils, sediments, traffic dirt remover, rubber, copper and other metals. If they are not decontaminated on site, the water, dirt and oil drains off into nearby rivers.

Waves, a hand car wash operator for major supermarkets across the UK, is supporting the scheme and wants other outfits to follow its lead in regulating the business.

A spokesperson for the company said: “We have a robust and stringent training and auditing processes to prevent the exploitation of workers and a full-time national team committed to ensuring our practices are followed on every site. We ensure that every worker has provided full documentation to prove their identity and their right to work in the UK before they can start to work on a Waves site.”