COVID-19 Hand Sanitiser

When the COVID sitution unfolded during March 2020 there was an urgent requirement for hand sanitiser, as demand was significantly outstripping supply.

A key ingredient in sanitiser is high strength alcohol and so distilleries were in a position to help out. Rather than produce the sanitiser in-house, we have partnered up the team, led by Lab Manager Judith Mayne at the University of East Anglia (UEA). The state-of-the art New Sciences Building had the space, staff and facilities to handle chemicals safely. We were one of a number of businesses who shared essential resources for this project. We provided ethanol and also bottling equipment to enable the finished hand sanitiser to be packed quickly and safely. The finished product was distributed to the Local Authority, hospitals, surgeries, care homes, hospices and charities throughout the region.

The hand sanitiser project by numbers:

• In total, 8 local businesses assisted on the project.
• 3,880 litres of hand sanitiser was produced.
• 6,300 bottles filled
• 14 technicians working in the UEA New Science Builing
• 1,300,000 estimated pairs of hands washed