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Clean dishes vs. reduced water pollution

Posted by: Maven on March 31, 2009 at 8:43 am

From the Christian Science Monitor’s Bright Green Blog:

If you had a choice between eating off dirty dishes or helping protect area waterways, which would you choose? In Spokane, Wash., where a state ban on phosphates in dishwasher detergent is being phased in, some residents are deciding in favor of squeaky-clean plates and glasses.

It turns out that phosphate-free dishwasher detergent — mandated by Washington State lawmakers for 2010 and beyond, and also coming to Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan, Vermont, Minnesota, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York — doesn’t do a great job at cleaning dishes. Or, at least, the ones currently on the market don’t.

So, complaining of greasy plates and pans with bits of food still stuck to them, a number of Spokanites are heading for Idaho (about 20 miles away) to smuggle home detergent that will do a better job.

The ban — which Congress is considering making national — is to protect rivers and lakes, where phosphates contribute to the growth of algae, which depletes oxygen needed by fish.

Read more from the Bright Green Blog by clicking here.

March 31, 2009 · Filed Under Water Quality

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