How Leading Personal Care Brands Are Eliminating Pipeline Losses

From shampoos and conditioners to creams, gels, and lotions, even small amounts left behind during transfers quickly add up to substantial waste.

But these losses aren’t inevitable. With the right systems in place, they can be recovered and turned back into saleable product.

Here’s how leading personal care brands are eliminating pipeline losses and reclaiming up to 99.5% of residual product using hygienic pigging technology.

The Challenge: Residual Product Waste in Transfer Pipelines

During batch transfers, valuable product often remains in the pipeline. Viscous formulations are especially costly, as they cling to pipe walls and leave large volumes of unrecovered product.

Without product recovery technology, this product typically becomes waste:

• Flushed away during cleaning, or
• Discarded or downgraded due to contamination during changeovers

For manufacturers producing high-value formulations and handling frequent SKU switches, this represents a significant and ongoing efficiency gap.

How Much is Being Lost?

Residual product left in pipelines adds up quickly:

• A 50-metre, 2-inch line may hold around 40 litres of product - worth £400–£800 per batch.
• A 100-metre, 4-inch line may hold up to 250 litres - worth £2,500–£5,000 per batch at typical values.
• For premium formulations, where product is valued at £30–£50 per litre, losses can exceed £7,500–£12,500 per batch.

For facilities running multiple batches daily, these hidden losses translate into hundreds of thousands of pounds, or more every year.

The Solution: Hygienic Pigging Systems

Pigging is a liquid product recovery method that uses a specialist projectile (called a “pig”) to push residual product through pipelines to the next stage of processing or packaging.

The pig is propelled by nitrogen, carbon dioxide, compressed air, water, or even the next product in line, safely and hygienically removing residual product from the pipeline. 

Key Benefits for Personal Care Liquid Manufacturers:

•  Rapid Product Recovery – Up to 99.5% of product quickly reclaimed from the line
•  Faster Changeovers – Minimal cleaning required between batches
• Lower Cleaning Costs – Reduced rinse water, CIP fluid, and downtime
• Improved Hygiene and Integrity – Reduces risk of product cross-contamination
• Sustainability Gains – Less waste, fewer chemicals, reduced effluent

Results from the Industry

HPS pigging technology saves companies tens of thousands, often hundreds of thousands, sometimes even millions of £/$/€s every year.

For example, one global personal care liquid manufacturer implementing pigging on their transfer lines reported:

• 93% reduction in product waste
• 83% reduction in washout times
• Sanitisation completed in 15 minutes, instead of 2-3 hours
• ROI achieved in less than 12 months

Recovered product was diverted directly to packaging, increasing output and reducing reliance on raw material rework. The systems also required minimal maintenance and significantly reduced effluent volumes.

Faster, Safer Changeovers

Personal care liquid production often involves frequent changeovers, whether switching between fragrances, formulations, or colours.

Pigging enables faster, cleaner transitions with:

• Minimal product-to-product carryover
• Reduced water and chemical consumption
• Less downtime and manual intervention
• Reliable, repeatable changeovers

Aligning with Sustainability Goals

Eliminating pipeline waste doesn’t just protect profits; it helps meet environmental goals. By cutting product losses, associated effluent, water use, and chemical requirements, pigging supports sustainability initiatives, lean manufacturing practices, and corporate responsibility commitments.

Compatible Products

Pigging systems are suitable for a wide range of personal care liquid products, including:

• Shampoos and conditioners
• Creams, serums, and lotions
• Toothpaste and oral care gels
• Body washes, soaps, and sanitisers
• Sunscreens, bronzers, and tanning products

Pigging systems can be retrofitted into existing infrastructure or designed into new facilities, and they scale easily with production growth.

Final Thoughts: Unlocking Untapped Value

Pipelines are often overlooked when it comes to efficiency, but they represent a significant source of avoidable waste.

By recovering residual product with hygienic pigging, personal care manufacturers can:

• Yields increase
• Waste decreases
• Changeovers accelerate
• Cleaning becomes faster and more efficient
• Carbon footprint reduces, sustainability improves

To find out more about pigging and assess potential savings, contact HPS - the leading experts in pigging technology.

More information in the link below.

The link for the article is https://www.hps-pigging.com/stop-pipeline-losses-recover-99-5-of-product-with-pigging-technology/