Rethinking Green Cleaning: Are We Hacking At Branches?

Henry David Thoreau once observed that there are a thousand people hacking away at the branches of a problem for every one who is digging at its root. The cleaning industry’s “green” message often looks to me like hacking away at the branches.

First of all, the green movement focuses too heavily on chemicals. The subtext of the recent greening movement in the cleaning industry is that janitors are a bunch of polluters. This is completely misleading. If janitors are using dangerous pollutants, then what are home cleaners doing to the environment? Plus, as a contractor, it is probably not the best strategy to promote green cleaning by telling your customers that you and the industry have been polluting their buildings for decades.

Consider this next point when you buy products. Most of the products that have been converted to green-friendly compositions are all-purpose cleaners for scrubbing and mopping. While these products are necessary in any cleaning operation, they are only a small part of the chemistry menu.

For instance, everyday cleaning operations use pesticides, which may never be available in an environmentally preferable format. But pesticides — the germicide or disinfectant we use to kill pathogenic microorganisms — are vital. The proper mixing and use of germicides is an important issue in cleaning to improve health.

Products are only a fraction of the issue. There are other things to consider when making your cleaning operation environmentally friendly — for instance, waste. In a survey I have conducted in every Janitor University class over the past 12 years, participants estimate that between 15 and 80 percent of all cleaning materials purchased are misused, not used and over-used. If all of those materials are wasted, it doesn’t really matter if the chemical is green or not — they still take resources to transport and store; they’re eventually poured down drains and sent to landfills. It is important for cleaning operations to buy only what is needed and to use what is bought.

With all of the talk about protecting the outdoor environment, I have been surprised at the lack of attention paid to the indoor environment. Proper removal of lung damaging particles, disinfecting of pathogenic microorganisms and removal of other contaminants from the building is part of our job. If we’re overstocking our inventories with waste, not properly diluting chemicals and not properly training workers on safe practices — we’re not environmentally responsible.

The real issues are training and processes. Cleaning operations striving to be environmentally friendly need to look at their overall processes and not just their materials. By keeping these considerations in mind, cleaning organizations may just be able to have a positive impact on the environment. It’s time for the cleaning industry to stop hacking at the branches and start focusing on the root of the environmental problems.