Identifying Green Cleaners – How Rutgers Did It

When the Rutgers Facilities Custodial Product Evaluation Team began our review of cleaning and floor care products our goal was to find the best “greenest” products/system. However, first, we had to determine what makes a “green” product/system “green”. Are they all the same? Our committee didn’t think so and we set out to find the differences. The following is what we examined and discovered:

1. Chemicals. Cleaning chemicals are made from either petroleum (oil) based materials or from renewable bio-based (corn, soy, coconut oils, citrus oils, etc) materials. It is generally accepted that the “greenest” products are those made from renewable bio-based materials. Because they are made from renewable bio-based materials they tend to be more biodegradable and have better health ratings then there more aggressive oil-based counterparts. Of the 7 manufacturers that we looked at only Rochester-Midland and Hillyard had chemicals that were made with bio-based material.

Rochester-Midland
Enviro Care Washroom Cleaner – 100% bio-based
Enviro Care Glass Cleaner – 100% bio-based
Enviro Care Tough Job Cleaner – 100% bio-based
Enviro Care Neutral Cleaner – 100% bio-based
Enviro Care Floor Finish Remover – 7% bio-based
Enviro Care Disinfectant – 1% bio-based
Enviro Care Floor Sealer – 1% bio-based

Hillyard
Green Select Bathroom Cleaner – 83% bio-based
Green Select Glass Cleaner – 88% bio-based
Green Select Degreaser – 98% bio-based
Green Select Super Shine All – 50% bio-based
Green Select Suprox Concentrate Cleaner – 13% bio-based
Green Select Stripper – 5% bio-based

While Hillyard should be commended for moving their company forward by using bio-based materials in their products, Rochester-Midland is clearly the leader of the two offering more products with higher percentages of bio-based materials.

Further, though minimal, Rochester-Midland products also offer better HMIS and NFPA health ratings then the Hillyard products.

Average Health Ratings (HMIS/NFPA) for the products that we tested:
0 = Minimal, 1 = Slight, 2 = Moderate, 3 = Severe

2. Metered Chemical Dispensing Systems . Ideally, we want as many products as possible to be mixed using the metered chemical dispensing system. While we're sure there are custodians who meticulously measure out all cleaning chemicals, we're also sure that there are many in the field that employ the “glug glug” method of measurement.

If a custodian uses 4 ounces of a product per gallon when they are only supposed to use 2 ounces per gallon they have:

A. Doubled the cost of cleaning whatever it was they were cleaning.

B. Doubled the amount of chemicals that they can come in contact with while using the product.

C. Doubled the amount of chemicals introduced into the environment.

The less we rely on our custodians to correctly mix products that are not mixed using a metered chemical dispenser, the more we are going to be able to optimize budgetary dollars, as well as keep both our custodians and our environment healthy!

Rochester-Midland and Hillyard both offer a dispenser that is:

A. Small enough to fit in all of our custodial closets.

B. Easy to use and is ADA compliant.

C. Versatile and does not limit the number of products capable of being used due to lack of dispenser capacity.

D. Capable of filling both buckets and bottles for all dispenser-available products.

E. Metering tip free. The metering tips for products measured using the chemical dispenser are in each new bottle. This eliminates any problems (clogging, widening) that may be associated with those dispensers whose metering tips are inside the dispenser itself.

3. Performance. Product testing took place over the course of three months. While the JohnsonDiversey products received many “excellent” votes regarding “quality of results” and “overall performance”, the Rochester-Midland and Hillyard lines received many “good” votes. The committee determined that although the Rochester-Midland and Hillyard products didn’t receive as many “excellent” votes as the JohnsonDiversey products, any perceived performance shortfall with their products could be overcome with proper and thorough training.

In conclusion, after doing an extensive review of chemical composition, metered dispensing systems and performance, the Rutgers Facilities Custodial Product Evaluation Team determined that Rochester-Midland offered the best and “greenest” cleaning products/system manufacturers that we tested.

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Upcoming Events:
 
Meeting the Sacred in Creation Retreats Offered in Hudson Valley, Pacific Northwest, Southeast in April, May, October 2007.
 
New Brunswick Environmental Health and Justice Tour, April 18, 2007.
 
Prof. Larry Rasmussen to Keynote April 23, 2007 Interfaith Environmental Conference with Drew Theological School.