Sustainability

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Since conventional cleaning products have been recognized as contributors to indoor air quality problems, creating healthy indoor spaces starts by limiting the introduction of unnecessary pollutants.

Focusing on providing reduced-chemistry alternatives to cleaning such as aqueous ozone can help us become more sustainable as an industry and as a society at large.

We first profiled the Chicago Center For Green Technology (CCGT) in the July 2009 issue of Cleaning & Maintenance Management magazine. Now, we provide an update on this interesting endeavor.

There are three related categories in the chemical-free construct for eliminating chemical residual: Transitional, enabled and fully toxic-free, chemical-free technologies. In the end, after the specific cleaning activity, all achieve a common result in that there is no harmful chemical residual in the air or on any surface.

December 6, 2012 in Orlando, Florida, will mark CMI's second session of the Sustainable Cleaning for Educational Facilities program held in partnership with Cleaning Consultant Services Inc.

Many states have laws requiring lamp recycling and the proper disposal of ballasts, batteries and electronic waste. Make sure you are compliant with your state regulations.

Vertical walls, vegitecture, living art, vertical gardens, biotecture, green walls and other interior plantscapes can be a sense of pride for occupants and owners and an impressive statement to visitors.

Because the ice melt industry is largely unregulated, there's nothing to prevent a manufacturer from adding small traces of additives to basic rock salt and claiming greater environmental benefits, creating a unique symbol that implies eco-friendliness, including "green" or "environmentally friendly" in the product name — or making other misleading claims without validation.

Green techniques can be incorporated into a facility at any time, regardless of age or use; do the right thing and protect your bottom line, as environmentally responsible businesses are efficient businesses.

At the 2012 ISSA/INTERCLEAN North America trade show in Chicago, Tolco will showcase their biodegradable plastic products. Read about the technology that can help you reduce your environmental footprint here and then visit booth 3631 to learn more.