The invention pertains to an economically and ecologically advantageous process for cleaning beverage or food processing equipment according to the cleaning-in-place concept, wherein the cleaning solution is pumped directly into the equipment without prior rinsing. The return flow containing the bulk of residual product is collected separately in a recycling tank and, preferably by means of a membrane process, separated into a concentrate heavily laden with impurities and a permeate containing active substance. The residue is disposed of separately, the permeate returned to the cleaning solution.