National Park Service rescinds ban on plastic water bottles – a bad and dangerous policy for wildlife

Plastic pollution – such as shown here in the Grand Canyon prior to the plastic water ban – will likely now become a common scene again.

In what is clearly bowing to pressure from both our infamous, uh, illustrious national leader and lobbying (as with beaucoup dollars thrown at them or the federal agency that oversees it) by plastic bottle manufacturers, the National Park Service has announced it’s lifting the 6-year ban on the sale of plastic water bottles within national parks.

Green your holiday wrapping

Of the Earth gift wrap contains 50% recycled content

Getting even more into the spirit of the holidays means putting those holiday cards together, making sure you have the right presents and wrapping them up beautifully (or as best as you can).

Most wrapping paper isn’t recyclable. It’s usually dyed or laminated and can contain additives like gold and silver coloring, glitter and plastics.

Ban on dishwasher detergents with high phosphates to begin July 1st

 

Beginning July 1st, it will be illegal for retailers to sell high phosphate dishwasher detergent in sixteen states. The new phosphate limit of 0.5 percent phosphorus by weight only applies to non-commercial dishwasher detergents. 

A ban on phosphates had been in the works in a number of states since 2008, to give detergent companies time to develop effective dishwashing alternatives. 

Just how Eco-friendly is your Laundry Detergent?

A lawsuit is being filed  to force cleaning conglomerates Tide, Colgate-Palmolive and others to reveal the exact chemical ingredients of their laundry detergents to consumers.

Environmentalists and health activists are filing a lawsuit in New York today, using a little-known New York statute meant to combat phosphates in detergent as the basis for the suit.

Filed on behalf of six state and national environmental and health groups, including the the Sierra Club and the American Lung Association.

The Soap and Detergent Association has accused the groups of using the “arcane regulation” to “disparage” cleaning companies “whose products are used by milions of people safely and effectively every day.”

The cleaning product industry says it plans to make more information available to the public next year. The Association represents 110 cleaning product manufacturers that produce over 90 percent of U.S. cleaning products.

According to the L.A. Times   http://tinyurl.com/bur74tl, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is the agency that oversees home cleaning products. Since they don’t require cleaning manufacturers to provide complete ingredient lists, most don’t.

With consumer awareness of environmental issues growing, consumers are beginning to demand full disclosure. And that trend will only continue to grow.

Seems it would be prudent for manufacturers to get onboard a bit more quickly. Those that do could see increased sales as a direct reward for their efforts.