Sustainable Custodial Products

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Sustainable Custodial Products
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Benefits

• Maximize worker protection
• Protect the environment
• Save time by reducing cleaning products from an
  average of 33 to 7 per custodial station
• Save time by reducing chemical inventory
• Reduce waste handling, shipping, disposal costs
• Lower purchasing cost

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First Steps

• Pull together team custodians, EPP coordinator,
  industrial hygiene, liquid effluents, waste
  management, environmental releases, and contract
  specialists
• Identify present products not meeting
  requirements (designated biobased and recycled
  content products)
• Evaluate the more environmental alternatives that
  meet the Green Seal Industrial Institutional
  Standards GS-37 (Cleaners) and GS-40 (Floor Care)
  
• Test products
• Train staff on different cleaning process

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GS-37 Standard CriteriaMandatory Pass/Fail

• No regulated ingredients
• No compounds requiring reporting per Superfund
  Act
• No aerosol cans
• No alkyl phenol ethoxylates
• No priority pollutants
• No ingredients classified as carcinogens,
  mutagens, teratogens
• No ozone depleting compounds
• No volatile organic compounds

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Mandatory SpecsNo Regulated Ingredients

• Superfund Act
• Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act
• SARA Title III, Section 313, 40 CFR 372.45, Toxic
  Release Inventory (TRI) Chemicals
• Alkyl phenol ethoxylates are hormone mimickers
• Priority pollutants defined in Clean Water Act
• Mutagen agent, such as ultraviolet light, that
  can increase the frequency of a mutation in an
  organism
• Teratogen agent, such as a virus or drug, that
  causes malformation of an embryo or fetus

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GS-37 Standard CriteriaRelative Ranking

• Price
• Aquatic toxicity
• Skin and eye irritation
• Dilution range, mixing and application methods
• Returnable/reusable containers, recycled content,
  screen printed labeling
• Product compatibility with other products
• Product testing, demonstration, and staff
  training
• Delivery time
• Separate cleaners and disinfectants
• Dyes
• Fragrances

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To Consider in Request for Proposal

• Need to allow much more than standard response
  time to Request for Proposal and evaluation time
• Use non-disclosure agreements to assist in
  obtaining proprietary information
• Hold teleconference for vendors prior to their
  submittals to discuss information needed
• Need to establish and train custodial staff on
  cleaning protocol (Example disinfectants)
• Need to ensure specifications meet your states
  definition of what is regulated, sewerable, and
  how certain materials may be diluted and dispensed

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Challenges

• Changing our paradigm of what is clean and
  healthy (Example deodorizers and
  disinfectants)
• Learning new cleaning procedures
• Limited number of floor products and
  disinfectants without regulated ingredients
• Manufacturers reluctance to share proprietary
  information

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Website for Cleaners Floor Care Products that
Meet Green Seal Standards http//www.greenseal.org
/findaproduct/index.cfmcleaners