ERIC Number: EJ987188
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Feb
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1540-8000
EISSN: N/A
Making Green Cleaning Easy for Local School Boards
Ashkin, Stephen
State Education Standard, v12 n1 p37-41 Feb 2012
Ten or even five years ago, it would have been a major undertaking for a school district to convert to a comprehensive green cleaning program. At that time there was little precedence and no "roadmaps" for doing so. Thus schools faced numerous challenges that included: (1) what defined a green cleaning product; (2) should a comprehensive program focus on just cleaning chemicals or did it include other products such as sanitary paper and cleaning equipment; (3) whether or not green cleaning products would meet performance requirements; and (4) would the products be cost competitive with those already being used. Often these challenges made the decision to convert to a green cleaning program difficult. This was because school boards were dealing with major cuts in budgets, student educational issues, meeting state and federal requirements, and more. However, today, while both state and local boards of education still find resources to be at a premium, advances by the cleaning industry have made it easy for school districts of all sizes to adopt a comprehensive green cleaning program. What boards of education across the country have found is that there are now well-conceived and respected national green cleaning programs that make it easy to identify the components of a comprehensive green cleaning program, and to meet the cost, performance, legal, political, and other needs of school systems. This article provides examples of existing green cleaning policies for school districts, as well as recommendations for making policies even more effective. (Contains 3 endnotes.)
Descriptors: Program Effectiveness, Sanitation, Boards of Education, School Districts, Conservation (Environment), Hazardous Materials, Hygiene, Budgets, Industry, Physical Environment, Educational Environment, Health Promotion, Employees, Students
National Association of State Boards of Education. 2121 Crystal Drive Suite 350, Arlington, VA 22202. Tel: 800-368-5023; Tel: 703-684-4000; Fax: 703-836-2313; e-mail: boards@nasbe.org; Web site: http://www.nasbe.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A