New state law mandates public schools begin green cleaning

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Custodians at school districts statewide soon will become unlikely environmental champions, thanks to new legislation. By May 9, all districts must comply with the Green Clean Schools Act, a law requiring schools to implement more "green" cleaning practices. "We define green cleaning as cleaning for health while protecting the environment," said Mark Bishop, deputy director of Healthy Schools Campaign, the Chicago-based organization that helped lobby for the law. The bill sailed through the House and the Senate in six months, making Illinois the second state in the nation Ñ New York was the first Ñ to require green cleaning in schools. Part of the goal is to prevent the spread of disease, allergens and asthma-inducing elements. Students are a vulnerable population, Bishop said, because of their developing immune systems and behavior patterns. "Those lead to greater exposure, when they're touching and putting things in their mouth," Bishop said. "We also want to leave a smaller environmental footprint, more bio-based and not adding to the toxicity of indoor and outdoor environments." Loren Swartley, Sterling Schools facilities manager, says asthma has become more prevalent in schools than ever before. "Before, you didn't have air conditioning or screens. Kids walked to schools and were exposed to more things. Now with more tight buildings, you have to be aware of things not worried about in the past," Swartley said. Children aren't the only group the law aims to protect. "The way most people in my position look at it, our people that work for us, custodians, use these products every night. They're exposed to it more often. The people in the daytime are exposed, but not nearly like we are. We're concerned about their safety, and anything to make it safer for them is a no-brainer," Swartley said. What this means for districts is switching out entire stocks of cleaning supplies for state-approved, green materials, including vacuums with high-efficiency particulate air filters and recycled, nonbleached paper hand towels. Swartley said the district already has seen benefits from the green cleaning movement. Specifically, suppliers have begun offering to destroy old chemicals and other items. There's also less preventive maintenance because the newer, less-caustic materials aren't as harmful on chemical mixers and other appliances. No local school officials could say for certain whether the change would increase costs, but that is something they will be watching out for. In December, Dave Blackburn, business manager of Dixon Public Schools District, said the district could minimize some of the burden by being frugal with the new supplies. A district can apply for an exemption from the law if it determines the change is financially burdensome, and the law does allow districts to use all existing supplies before making the switch. "The purpose is not to create something punitive and difficult, but to create a market incentive to really promote green cleaning," Bishop said. Swartley said he wasn't worried about increased costs; a green cleaning survey of the district showed it already was 90 percent compliant with the law as written. Instead, he says, the biggest concern is being compliant when it comes to recycling. "We produce quite a few copies and we need to get more of those recycled," Swartley said. Sterling is fortunate to have Self Help Enterprises nearby, Swartley said, a business with developmentally disabled employees that has a recycling facility. "Most schools can get materials together but have no place to take them. That's their biggest concern," Swartley said. "We still need to get further in that area." The law also has been criticized for not having an actual enforcement mechanism. The state's regional offices of education are charged with enforcing the new law. "They've set the guidelines and specifications but we don't know what the rules are, so they can't say in we're in compliance or not. The guidelines at least give us a route to go," Swartley said. Bishop said that should change when the law is incorporated into Health/Life/Safety requirements. "There's a lot of impetus on the industry to get this done, and companies are more than willing and up for the challenge," Bishop said. "They did a nice job with this bill because they involved people in the industry. We knew about this two or three years ago," Swartley said. "It's a win-win situation. It doesn't cost any more to do this and everybody exposed to it benefits." Reach Malinda Osborne at (815) 284-2222 or (800) 798-4085, ext. 526.