The green clean divide

While many foodservice directors champion sustainable food, finding a greener way to clean with plant-derived agents might not be so straightforward.

The University of Michigan implemented a green-certified cleaning system for its plant building and grounds services in 2009. However, the administration is not convinced the products belong in foodservice. “We tried a line [of green products], but we felt the degreasers didn’t do the cleaning as well,” said Thomas Smith, director of residential operations at the Ann Arbor, Mich., school.

However, switching to natural cleaning products allowed Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey to eradicate on-site worker injuries.

“We used to average 13 incidents a year where people were either having asthma [symptoms], burns or some kind of rash,” says Jim Ronchi, project manager at Hackensack UMC’s Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center. “They would get sent to occupational medicine, and it would take them out of work. When we started using the green cleaning products, we didn’t have one incident.”