Judges took a shine to a Kent-based manual car wash company in a green awards competition.

Hands On, whose head office is in Ebbsfleet Business Park, Stonebridge Road, Ebbsfleet, was among major winners at the Green Apple Environment Awards.

Hands On, which operates at more than 140 supermarket, shopping centre and forecourt sites throughout the UK, was awarded the Environmental Best Practice award for its Greener, Cleaner Car Wash project.

The company has developed a process which uses just two litres of water to clean a family car - compared with about 150 litres in an automated car wash.

The secret of Hands On's success is a washing system using micro-fibre cleaning materials which retain water and draw dirt into their fibres for a less "thirsty" process.

Water consumption in reduced by more than 60 per cent but the car still sparkles.

Hands On was also praised for its environmental best-practice throughout the business, including use of local suppliers to reduce transportation emissions and costs, video conferencing between offices to conserve fuel and ensuring only non-hazardous and non-caustic chemicals are used in cleaning.

Rick Plowman, founder and managing director of the Hands On group, said: "Changing our entire approach to car cleaning has been a real labour of love for us. It's taken a long time to get right, but it's been worth every hour and every penny to ensure we operate in the most ecologically responsible way possible."

The company, which operates a "wash-while-you-shop" service to save customers time and inconvenience, is collecting its Environmental Best Practice award at a ceremony at the House of Commons.

• As a result of the win, Hands On may also represent the UK at the 2010 European Environmental Awards. The Green Apple Environment Awards is credited as an official "feeder system" for nominating top European environmental achievers.
  The awards are run by the independent, not for profit Green Organisation