Cleaning and Maintenance

FACT The average person spends 90% of their day indoors where air pollution from various sources such as cleaners, upholstery and carpeting can be up to 100 times greater than the air outdoors.
FACT Cleaning products are responsible for 8% of all non vehicle emissions of volatile organic compounds. These can trigger respiratory problems such as asthma and inhibit plant growth.
FACT Over 70,000 chemical cleaners are in use today. Fewer than 2% have been thoroughly tested.
FACT The typical office desk harbours around 400 times more bacteria causing diseases than a toilet seat.
FACT Concentrated formulas for laundry and cleaning products use 60% less packaging than normal concentrations do. Packaging can make up to 15% of your bin alone. Why pay for extra boxing?
FACT Fax machines (used by everyone and never cleaned) can have 3 times more bacteria on them than a toilet door.
FACT When did you last clean your keyboard or phone? Fewer than 1 in 3 of us ever do and many of us eat lunch at our desks.
FACT Most violations in cleaning are linked to: unlabelled spray bottles of fluid; unavailable material Safety Data Sheets; lack of personal protective equipment.
FACT According to the American Medical Association 50% of all illnesses are caused or aggrevated by polluted indoor air.

Are you using compounds which are as environmentally benign as possible?

Environmentally friendly products biodegrade more quickly than oil based ones.  Wherever possible these should be used.  Avoid using chlorine bleach.

Are you using as little of the product as you can?

Scottish water is generally very soft and so needs less product for the same effect.  For dishwashers and washing machines use powder rather than liquid.

Washing and scrubbing brushes

Wooden handled brushes with natural fibre bristles are much better for the environment than plastic or nylon ones.  They last longer and can be made from renewable sources.  Brushes with replaceable heads should be used rather than totally new ones.

Have you limited the number of aerosols being used?

Aerosals need gases such as butane to propel the cleaning agent.  Butane is a powerful greenhouse gas and is a natural non renewable source.  Aerosals also use an excessive amount of material which cannot be recycled easily in their production.

Are your paints low toxin?

Paint products can contain chlorine, cadmium, titanium dioxide and sulphur dioxide.  Heavy metals pollute the environment and consume considerable energy during production.  If not properly disposed of  the empty or part empty tins cause toxins to leach into the environment.   Eco friendly commercial paints are now readily available with EU Eco labels.  Where possible use natural and water based paints and varnishes.

Are your floor coverings low toxicity?

The smell from new floor coverings shows that they excrete volatile organic compounds from their solvents and fibres. Although the smell eventually fades gases continue to be released.  Care should be taken in the specification, fitting and disposal of floor coverings to reach the most environmentally benign solution.

Are your windows PVC or wooden?

Increased levels of ultra violet light associated with global warming will increasingly damage PVC plastic used in construction.  Glass and wood are better.

Are you using Forest Stewardship Council woods?

These are from sustainable sources and should be bought in preference to other woods.  Look for European softwoods and hard woods instead of woods from tropical sources.  Mahogany is one of the most environmentally damaging sources of timber.

Is your office insulated to or above the current building specifications?

As regulations change, a programme of upgrade for current levels should be standard to save on energy loss.  Effective insulation of all your buildings is one of the most efficient ways of reducing your CO2 emissions.

Is your insulation material as environmentally benign as possible?

Using insulation made from recycled paper fibre uses only 2% of the energy needed for polyurethane based insulation and only 10% of that needed for insulation made from mineral fibres.

Are your external walls insulated?

30% of a buildings heat is lost through its walls.  Where possible cavity wall insulation is a good option.

Why use air fresheners?

Do not use artificial sprays. The vapours add to office pollution and sick buildings syndrome as they are based on petrochemicals.

Are staff trained in a step by step manner for proper dilution, use, disposal and use of cleaners and equipment?

Is the packaging recyclable or is it refillable?

Cleaning products are amongst the most hazardous and often are the least thought about. Using a concentrated product correctly cuts down on packaging waste and transport and can save you money.  Save energy too by using cold water to dilute mixtures. The most common ingredient (up to 90%) in general purpose cleaners is water.  Using a concentrated product reduces the amount of water in the product for transport and packaging.

A 5 year EPA study found concentrations of 20 toxic compounds to be up to 200 times higher inside homes and offices than outside.

90% of human poison exposure cases occur in the home/office as a result of chemical misuse.

Is your product just “biodegradable” or is it “readily biodegradable”?

The rate at which it breaks down is important.  If it biodegrades slowly or incompletely it can harm the environment even at low concentrations as it can increase the penetration of harmful chemicals into the tissues of animals and humans.

Does your products contain EDTA, NTA, phosphates or their derivatives?

If so change them for less environmentally impacting products.

Does your product contain chlorine bleach? 

Many products use sodium hypochlorite to whiten, disinfect, deodorise and remove stains.  In waste water it can react with other chemicals to form chlorinated organic compounds which can be toxic and carcinogenic.  When buying non chlorine bleach containing products be sure that they are labelled to be effective in cold water.  A good substitute for bleach is sodium percarbonate.

Avoid petroleum based solvents, glycol ethers, phenolic compounds and surfactants

Petroleum based solvents are made from non renewable resources are extremely flammable and are toxic on inhalation.  Glycol ethers are commonly used in spray cleaners and many are toxic.  Phenol, used as a germ killer in cleaners is also toxic.  Look instead for pine oil or citrus based solvents.

Favour neutral pH products

Acidic or alkaline products can cause burns or irritation if spilled on the skin. A pH of 7.0 is ideal as this is neutral and the same pH as clean water.  A pH of 1.0 is most acidic and 14.0 is most alkaline.

Look for smart containers/packaging

Find products packaged as a concentrate and contained in recyclable or refillable containers.  Avoid pressurised aerosols as if punctured they can lead to dangerous releases.  The aerosols in the can are flammable and contribute to the amount of VOC in the atmosphere.  Aerosols are also difficult to recycle.

Unsure of what buy?

For recommended green buys contact Waste Services (tel: 01595 744800, email waste@shetland.gov.uk ).

Are you using your materials efficiently?

Do you use exact measuring dispensers on your concentrated products?

Do you use washable microfibre mops and cloths?

These need significantly less cleaning chemicals to work properly and can be cleaned and reused.

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