New York State Schools To Be Clean and Green
ALBANY, N.Y.-Recently, Gov. George Pataki introduced legislation requiring the state’s school districts to use environmentally-friendly cleaning products. According to a Department of Health study, teachers have higher rates of adult-onset asthma, and the cleaning products used in schools could be partially to blame. Toxic cleaning chemicals could also be contributing to the increase of asthma in children.
Green cleaning products are thought to be less irritating and safer for the environment. The U.S. Department of the Interior has developed guidelines to help determine whether a cleaning product is green. The top five criteria are:
The product must be bio-based and must come from a sustainable source;
It must not contain petro-dyes;
Petro-artificial perfumes are prohibited;
The product must be biodegradable; and
It cannot contain petroleum.
Although many in the state applaud the governor’s move, others believe his legislation does not go far enough. There are some cleaning products on the market that have been certified as green by independent testing agencies. According to Mike Sawchuk, vice president of Enviro-Solutions, a manufacturer of certified-green cleaning chemicals, New York schools should be encouraged to buy certified green products.