News

Workplace Interventions Reduce of Slips, Trips and Falls

JohnsonDiversey Adopts New Corporate Identity

ISSA Announces New CIMS-GB

A Green Building Is Different Than A Healthy Building

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Of Note...

EPA Moves Forward With Green Disinfectants
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials announced at a meeting of the Workgroup on Comparative Safety Statements for Pesticide Product Labeling that they are moving forward with the green disinfectant and sanitizer pilot program. The program will consist of two tracks: (1) The EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE) product recognition and (2) limited statements of environmental preferability.

At the meeting, EPA representatives presented the parameters under which the EPA Antimicrobial Division (AD) will allow the use of the DfE logo on the label and with the general promotion of certain disinfectants and sanitizers. EPA officials envision a two-part review process under which products would have to complete the DfE review and then complete a review by AD.

The pilot program also will encompass a track that allows registrants to make certain limited factual statements of environmental preferability in regard to disinfectants and sanitizers. In regard to this aspect of the pilot, EPA significantly cut back on the claims it would allow to be made in conjunction with such products.

Click here to learn more from Steve Ashkin, president of The Ashkin Group, as he addresses disinfectants and sanitizers and how they fit into a green cleaning program.

Ask Your Peers...

Has anyone really found a green stripper that works?

• In order to strip a non-green finish you should probably nuke it with your current scull and bones product. Start using a green finish and the appropriate stripper that partners that finish. Green finishes are zinc free. Most chemical manufacturers purchase from the same raw material suppliers, so there are really no magic formulations available. —mjman
• My district purchased an auto-scrubber about a year ago. I've saved our district money in both labor and chemicals since it only takes me approximately three to four hours to scrub an average MPR without using any chemicals. I've also used this machine to strip and clean our gym floors for refinishing. I'm now looking to purchase a larger one to do our gym floors and keep the smaller one of classrooms. —Hondarider47

Click here to read additional feedback on this and other questions facing the industry.

Editors Note

Overcoming The "Do More With Less" Mentality
To say that in-house cleaning departments are now doing even more with less is truer today than it has ever been before. Although economists hint towards an economic rebound, budgets are slow to bounce back to pre-recession levels and staffing shortages continue to plague overworked departments.

Facing this reality is easier for departments that have proper workloading and productivity standards in place. Working with measurable data has proven to create efficiencies in the cleaning department — streamlining processes while maintaining desired levels of clean.

Watch for the November issue of Housekeeping Solutions to address workloading and best practices that will streamline your department and help you effectively overcome "do more with less" expectations.