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Schools

Concerns Linger Over Windsor Schools' Switch to Green Cleaning Products

Only approved products are allowed in Windsor Public Schools buildings.

Windsor Public Schools' new policy reads: "No parent, guardian, teacher or staff member may bring into the school facility any consumer product which is intended to clean, deodorize, sanitize or disinfect."

The policy is being called the Green Cleaning Policy, and Windsor's schools are not alone.

Beginning this school year, all schools in the state of Connecticut are required to implement a green gleaning program within district buildings.

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"We knew it was coming down," said George Greco, Physical Plant manager for Windsor. "We had a letter that went out last year."

The policy, known as Public Act 9-81 in the legislature, was initially passed in the Connecticut General Assembly in June 2009. 

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According to the policy, which is available on Windsor Public Schools' website, all products being used in Windsor schools must be certified by one of two independent companies: Green Seal or Eco Logo. The two organizations certify products as meeting "green cleaning standards." 

According to the Green Seal website, "Green Seal is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding the environment and transforming the marketplace by promoting the manufacture, purchase, and use of environmentally responsible products and services."

"I am totally behind it. I think it’s great," said Greco and called it a "a step in the right direction for the earth." But he also maintains concerns about the quality of the earth-friendly products being used by the custodial staff and the how the conversion process has gone. "We'll see how [the products] hold up," he said.

Labeling any resistance to the change in cleaning products as perhaps a "knee jerk reaction," Greco said, "I just don’t think that the quality and variety of the products is up to par yet." The custodial staff has had varied opinions about the efficacy of the new products. The district hopes that as the earth-friendly industry grows, products will improve due to competition.

Besides the new cleaning products, staff members are feeling the pinch of this policy as well, as they are no longer allowed to bring in deoderizing or antibacterial products, such as hand sanitizer from home. "As of now, there is no disinfectant that is Green Seal approved," said Greco. "It’s coming."  

So for now, antibacterial hand wash and other products like it need to come from the same company that suppplies Windsor with all their cleaning products -- Hillyard, Inc. Teachers, more-so than parents, expressed their concerns about the switch this past summer when the letter of the impending change came out. 

As products brought in from home do not have a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) available, they are not policy-permitted. MSDS sheets come with all Hillyard products though and describe what to do in case of an emergency, accidental ingestion and other intances.

The cleaning products covered by the new program include general purpose, bathroom, glass cleaners, floor strippers and finishes, hand cleaners and soaps. 

Click here for more information on the distibutor of Windsor's cleaning products

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