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A case for greener cleaners
Closing the loop on what’s going down with what’s going down the drain
by Glenda BartoshPage 2 of 3
The fair denizens of Whistler alone create 14,000-15,000 cubic metres of wastewater every single day. And even though the municipality has one of the top wastewater treatment plants in Canada, greener cleaners would definitely save money in terms of treatment costs. More importantly, they would help from a global perspective.
"You just can’t keep dumping chemicals and pollution into the environment," says Brian Barnett, general manager of engineering and public works for Whistler. "It builds up.
"When people make chemicals, they don’t just disappear. They change form. You can remove it from wastewater and pull it out and then it’s in a more easily handled form, like solid waste, that you can dispose of at a landfill or something. But it goes out into the environment somehow."
But take heart, people, for solutions are at hand. All the local grocery stores – Creekside Market, Nesters Market, IGA and The Grocery Store – carry a wide range of green cleaners. While brands vary slightly, they all offer plenty of options from three of the top ones – Nature Clean, BioVert and Seventh Generation (so named for the importance of keeping the next seven generations in mind with every decision we make).
Shop locally and you’ll find every cleaning agent you could possibly want to whoosh down your drain in an effective and environmentally-friendly way, from detergent to laundry soap, cleansers, dishwasher soap, even toilet bowl cleaners.
And all of them are plant-based products. So ask yourself, wouldn’t you rather stick your hand into something made with coconut or lime oil instead of chemical whiteners, ozone-killing volatile organic compounds and petrochemicals? Even if you just try ONE green cleaner, you’ll be doing a whole bunch of things a big favour, starting with yourself.
How about starting with an eco-friendly dish detergent – you can feel the difference first-hand. One of my favourites is Seventh Generation. Go fragrance-free if you don’t like scent. But if you do, try the lavender. Sumptuous.
And if you think it doesn’t clean as well or is more expensive, the TV-based Shopping Bags assure you, as I do, that you’re wrong on both counts. While the shelf price might look higher, most of these products are so concentrated you use far less to get the same results as conventional cleaners.
Go Canadian, naturally
If you buy Nature Clean, you’re also buying from Canada’s oldest producer of environmentally safe cleaners and the top seller in our fair land.
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