Green Practices in Schools

While debating in-house or contract maintenance, costs and budgets, there is no better place to discuss Green Practices than our schools.  Schools have been the bastion for Green indoctrination for several decades, and it is more than appropriate for schools to do more than require Green products in the hands of their workers.  Believe it or not, there are many areas of essential breakdown with the workforce cleaning the facility.

One of the greatest examples is the MRSA outbreak.  Though the schools are now advocating Green chemicals, concern for Indoor Air Quality, and woory about the residual impact of cleaning agents on the student; the recent MRSA scare brought out the "Heavy Stuff" designed to sanitize the facility.  This would be understandable if there were no other choices, but there are Green disinfectants that have complete bacterial and viral kill ratios ... if your people know how to apply it.

Floor stripping and finishes should not be an exemption from the HB895 in Illinois where Green products are now mandated.  This process is not only hard on the workers, but some of the most VOC powerful agents on the market.  Yet, it is not addressed because it falls into an area that is better postponed until later.

Would you hire a teacher on the basis of interpersonal skills but had no certificate to teach?  Would you bring in a school nurse that was not fully trained in posted duties?  How is it that we expect an untrained and ill-informed workforce to handle the new set of mandates that continue to come down from the higher powers?  Janitorial work is no longer a broom-pusher, trash-emptier job.  It is moving from "Task Oriented" type of work where the main consideration is just getting the work done on time, to a higher plane where the workers MUST KNOW what is involved in Green Clean processes.

We are presently in a "Product Oriented" stage where the simplicitic belief is that inclusion of Green cleansers will satisfy the Green requirements.  This is better, but still wrong.  The janitorial industry is in transition.  It is moving to a level where a basic knowledge is required of these people.   They need basic training to understand the importance of Green Cleaning programs, and they need to understand the new practices that come with Green programs.

Green Schools should not be a euphemism.  Neither should it be addressed with tokenism.  Green Practices are the only clear and reasonable solution.  Getting people Green Clean Certified is necessary in the new era of janitorial expectations.  Green Clean Institute has the training needed for this phase of truly Green schools.