Unified Green Cleaning Alliance

Meeting II Summary

Meeting II Summary

Unified Green Cleaning Alliance

Nike Tiger Woods Center, Portland, OR

November 19, 2002

The meeting began promptly at 8:30 am. UGCA facilitator, Marsha Willard began by introducing the guest speakers and acknowledging the presence of some new members to the UGCA. There were 30 members and 1 guest in attendance.

Marsha explained that interest in the group had grown and reminded members of the membership requirements document that had been distributed previously.  Marsha then reviewed topics covered in the last meeting.  The topics were sustainability, an introduction to cleaning, and ground rules for the meetings.  Also discussed at the last meeting were the desired outcomes for the UGCA meetings.  Those outcomes are define sustainability, identify common needs, agree on priorities, determine verification, and decide what to do with our agreements.  Marsha also outlined the topics/goals for upcoming meetings as follows:

            Meeting II – learning about cleaning product attributes

            Meeting III – agreeing on significant attributes, and more learning

            Meeting IV – further assessing and agreeing on the attributes

            Meeting V – certification

            Meeting VI – determining the next steps.

Marsha then led a group activity to identify questions associated with the “Straw Man Green Cleaning Criteria” document that was sent to all members before the meeting.  The document lists issues or attributes associated with cleaning products.  The attributes are listed under the categories of Human Health Factors, Environmental Health Factors, Formulation Factors, Derivation Factors, Labeling Factors, Packaging Factors, Efficacy Factors, and Training / Worker Right-to-Know Factors with short definitions for each attribute provided.  For this meeting, the categories with the associated attributes were written on flip chart paper and hung on the walls around the room.  Members were asked to write their questions on post-it notes and place the questions next to the associated attributes the questions pertained to. 

After everyone had completed the group project, Lauren Heine introduced the first speaker, David Chandler, a toxicologist with 3M Corporation in Minneapolis, MN.  David discussed the “Three Rules of Toxicology” and explained some of the human health factors associated with cleaning products identified on the attribute/criteria list.  The slides of David’s presentation are not publicly available. 

The group then took a short break before the next presentation. 

The next presentation was given by David Kimball and Lauren Heine, both from Zero Waste Alliance in Portland, OR.  They discussed environmental impacts of cleaning products and looked at impacts throughout the life cycle of a cleaning product. Slides are available on the website at www.zerowaste.org (See UGCA Meeting II.)

One of the scheduled speakers, Philip Dickey, from the Washington Toxics Coalition did not present at this meeting due to time constraints.  It was decided that Philip would present his talk on alkyl phenol ethoxylates at Meeting III.

Marsha then invited the group to ask questions about the presentations.  She also read aloud some of the Post-it Note questions to facilitate discussion.  The group spent the last hour in a discussion session with many members voicing questions and several members along with the guest speakers offering responses.  The group attempted to focus on substantive questions from the presentations and the criteria list since questions related to how the attributes would be assessed will be handled at a future meeting.  Some of the topics covered in the discussion were methods for determining VOC content in cleaning products, tests for chemical component biodegradability, biodegradability of solids/packaging in landfills, what the LD₅₀ for a chemical tells us, pH as a measure of corrosivity, animal testing, definitions for teratogens and mutagens, antimicrobials, endocrine disrupters, EDTA, HMIS, differentiating between ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’, and hazardous waste versus dangerous waste. 

At the end of the meeting, Marsha asked the members to prepare for the next meeting by looking at the ‘Straw Man’ criteria list and deciding what attributes are most important.   It was emphasized that the list was simply a compilation of criteria identified by other groups’ efforts at analyzing cleaning product environment and health issues and was meant only as a starting point.  All in the group were encouraged to add to the list and those who wished to do so could contact Lauren Heine or bring their additions to the next meeting.

The meeting ended at noon with a lunch sponsored by Marfield Scott Agency followed by a tour of the Nike campus.  The next meeting will be held at 8:15 AM at US General Services Administration in Auburn, WA on December 10.