Make that 10! Vermont Passes Green Cleaning Law

Green cleaning continues to sweep the nation!

Yesterday, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed into law S.92 that will require anyone who sells products or provides services for cleaning a school to sell or use only certified green products. The specific certifications will be determined by the Vermont Department of Public Health.

Congratulations to our friends in Vermont who have led this charge. Carol Westinghouse of Informed Green Solutions has worked on this bill since 2008.

A healthy school environment is an essential part student learning. Green cleaning promotes students’ health and their ability to succeed academically while helping sustaining our planet. It’s also a practical move for schools looking to clean their buildings in an efficient and cost-effective way. Westinghouse observes, “after making the switch, some schools in Vermont have reported fewer instances of asthma cases, nausea, and headaches, and others have even reported saving money on the cost of cleaning supplies.”

Vermont’s new bill brings the number of states with school green cleaning requirements up to ten. Currently, the following states have school green cleaning legislation on the books:

• Connecticut
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Maine
• Maryland
• Missouri
• Nevada
• New York
• And now, Vermont

Learn more about this important piece of legislation here.

Kudos to the advocates across the nation who are speaking up and working with legislators to bring green cleaning to all schools.

Interested in working on a green clean schools law for your state? Contact us to learn more and talk about how you can take action.

Comments

[EMT Certification]

This just makes sense. Kids are so much more suseptable to these harsch cleaning chemicals than adults are. I think it's great we seeing legistlation regarding the implementation of green cleanning products. I use these products in my home why shouldn't they be used in the schools? Thanks for the article!

[Cecilia]

Thanks for sharing! This is really interesting. I have been talking with the janitorial staff at my work trying to get some rules in place about using green janitorial cleaning supplies. Glad to see this is happening other places!