1021 GPS

Green Partner Support

Standards, Ecolabels & Attributes

DISINFECTANTS

A common customer inquiry is to identify and source a “green” disinfectant. At this time, there is no recognized standard for “green” disinfectants that is widely available in the United States. FIFRA (the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act) states that any product making disinfect- ing or sanitizing claims against living organisms on inanimate surfaces is defined as a pesticide, and must be registered with the EPA. The EPA reviews the product label for each disinfectant to ensure compliance with labeling requirements, and at the time of this writing, has not allowed any disinfectant to make any third-party certified claims of environmental preferability.

In the near future, a partnership between the EPA Safer Choice and the Office of Pesticide Program (OPP) will conclude the Design for the Environment Antimicrobial Pesticide Pilot Project to result in a policy change that would allow hard surface disinfectants and sanitizers to substantiate claims of environmental preferability. In the meantime, appropriate and limited use of disinfectants on a targeted as-needed basis is a good general rule of thumb to consider when using disinfectants in a green cleaning program. While there aren’t “certified” green disinfectants widely available in the market at this time, there are characteristics to consider when selecting disinfectants which could represent a “safer” alternative. Some of the characteristics for a professional in the cleaning industry to consider when choosing a safer disinfectant or sanitizer include: options with low or no VOC content (such as low or no VOC products certified by CACC); options packaged in concentrate to minimize packaging waste; options which contain ingredients which are listed with EPA Safer Choice as being safer (such as hydrogen peroxide, citric acid, and lactic acid). Since all disinfectants and sanitizers are designed to kill (they have toxic properties and are listed as pesticides) care should be taken when determining the appropriate amount of disinfectant to use and the appropriate setting in which to use it. WAXIE offers several disinfectant and sanitizer options from which to choose from that can be considered safer alternatives and potentially complement an effective green cleaning program. Your WAXIE Account Consultant can work with you to design and implement a customized green cleaning program which includes safer disinfectants.

RAPIDLY RENEWABLE AND TREE-FREE

Rapidly renewable fibers used to produce sanitary paper products are natural agricultural materials which have a harvest cycle of less than ten years. Frequently these rapidly renewable materials are derived from tree-free sources, which as the name implies, means that they don’t come from trees. When compared with other materials which are used in the paper-making process, rapidly renewable materials have a comparatively lower impact on the environment since they require fewer resources and take less time to grow and harvest. Rapidly renewable softwoods such as eucalyptus and acacia, and tree- free fibers like bamboo and wheat can be used as an alternative to more traditional wood fiber to create sanitary paper products. A professional in the cleaning industry can choose sanitary paper products sourced from rapidly renew- able or tree-free resources to help a facility reach its overall sustainability goals, and use of these types of products can potentially contribute to LEED O+M certification for the building or CIMS-GB certification for the cleaning service provider. WAXIE has several sanitary paper product options from which to choose that are made from rapidly renew- able resources or which contain tree-free fibers. Your WAXIE Account Consultant can work with you to design and implement a customized green cleaning program which includes rapidly renewable or tree-free products.

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