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Select Business Outreach Project
The Select Business Outreach Project helps janitorial workers in King County select and use cleaners that present fewer risks to their health and the environment. Janitorial workers are employed by janitorial service businesses, as in-house staff, or as independent workers, and they work in facilities ranging from corporate offices and government institutions to private homes.
The problem
Large numbers of janitorial workers are ethnic minorities, particularly Hispanic immigrants, and many either don’t speak English or have limited English ability. A small percentage are illiterate in their native language. Because most cleaning product labels are in English—there are very few bilingual product labels and even fewer bilingual MSDS’s—many janitorial workers aren’t able to choose less harsh cleaners by reading product labels.
‘Cleaning with Caution’ Workshops
Cleaning with Caution workshops provide individuals with information about how to choose the least harmful cleaners. Designed for new immigrants and others who don’t speak or read English, the workshops provide quick and practical information about label reading, signal word recognition, and third party certifier logo identification. Workshops also introduce janitorial workers to alternative green cleaners. Recognizing that janitors use the cleaners provided or requested by their clients, the workshops are designed to give janitorial workers the knowledge and information they need to make safer product choices and to influence their clients or businesses to choose safer cleaners.
More information
For more information on the Cleaning with Caution workshop or the Select Business Outreach Project or to schedule a training, seminar or initial meeting, contact Emmanuel Rivera at 206-263-3078 or email emmanuel.rivera@kingcounty.gov. Para obtener informacion, Mayra Ayala at 206-767-7445 or email at mayra@ecoss.org.
For more information on cleaning products and related health concerns, see the following sites:
Washington State Labor and Industries
www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/TrainingTools/online
Hawaii State Health, Pollution Prevention (P2) in Action, Janitorial Cleaning
www.hawaii.gov/health/environmental/waste/p2wastemin
EPA, Design for the environment
www.epa.gov/dfe
Western Regional Pollution Prevention Network
www.wrppn.org/Janitorial
Washington Toxics Coalition
http://www.watoxics.org
Women's Action to Gain Economic Security
http://wagescooperatives.org
INFORM Inc.
http://www.informinc.org
Washington State Department of Ecology
http://www.ecy.wa.gov
New York City, NYC WasteLess program
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless
Living On Earth: Vida Verde
http://www.loe.org/index.htm
Ecologo
http://www.ecologo.org
Greenseal
http://www.greenseal.org
Seventh Generation
http://www.seventhgeneration.com
