Eco Friendly Dry Cleaning Alternatives

Dry cleaners have a notoriously lousy reputation. Some don’t trust them because they have ruined or lost an article of clothing. Mine has more to do with personal and environmental health and safety.  Dry cleaning isn’t really “dry.” Dry cleaning involves using a liquid solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly called PERC.  These chemicals help remove dirt and odours from clothing garments. What really scared me was learning that these solvents are then filtered or distilled from the water they cycle in because of they must be disposed of separately – as a hazardous waste. Yet, it seems perfectly okay to allow these chemicals to be used on clothing we wear against our skin.   Wet cleaning on the other hand, uses detergents and water. Professional wet cleaning services and machines have the ability to control agitation and temperatures based on the type of material being cleaned. With the wet cleaning method, dry cleaners can make a choice to use non-toxic detergents.   And while it seems that not all garments can be cleaned using the less harmful wet cleaning process, it is definitely a step in a greener direction.  (Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency: Wet Cleaning Report) So, how can you know that your local dry cleaner is going greener? 

We’ve been digging up some dirt to make your quest to find a lesser toxic solution easier: 3 things to ask your dry cleaner 

What solvents do you use to clean garments and is it biodegradable?  

Do you have a hanger recycling and reuse program? 

Is the plastic or poly used to protect clothing garments recyclable or biodegradable?    

Online searching terms to use to find your perfect fit: 

Eco-friendly dry cleaner [enter city here]

Environmentally friendly dry cleaner [enter city here]

Wet cleaning vs dry cleaning [enter city here] 

And if you live in Vancouver, you’re in luck – we’ve used our own tactics to find local, eco friendly dry cleaners 

Shirtland on Powell Street in East Vancouver has convenient hours of operation and a great location for anyone heading in or out of downtown. They also offer same day service.  

West Boulevard Cleaners is located in Kerrisdale. Their water based system is gentle yet effective. They are committed to going even greener by eliminating dry cleaning all together because of their new technology. 

Helping Hand Cleaners is located in the Cambie district. They are Certified Wet Cleaners, and according to a press release, were the first Canadian dry cleaners to achieve this certification.

Is chalk harmful for your health?

The short and long answer – no and yes. Chalk is made from a natural calcium carbonate. Its non-toxic when ingested. However, when inhaled, it can pose some problems for people with challenged respiratory systems or with prolonged exposure. 

 

Students and teachers are exposed to chalk day in and day out.  The chalk board, erasers, chamois and trays hold keep a lot of dust while the rest can settle throughout classrooms.  Asthma rates and airborne pollutants are on the rise, with children and those with weakened respiratory systems suffering the most.

 

So what can you do as a parent, teacher or student?

 

There are products like dustless chalk available on the market. They still produce a dust, but the dust particles are larger and therefore fall to the ground faster.  This dustless chalk came up the most in our searches but the reviews are mixed.

 

Other alternatives could be to use an overhead projector or whiteboards with non-toxic erasable markers like AusPens.

 

Green Products Expo

EcoSmart Products will be visiting the Big Apple later this month to showcase the AusPen markers at the Green Products Expo. The Expo is set up to introduce some of the best green products on the market to editors, writers and producers from media outlets throughout North America.

The show is on February 25th at the Marriott Marquise in Times Square.

If anyone is going to be at the show and would like to set up a meeting with us, please email info at ecosmartworld.com and we can schedule it.

Canadian List of E-Waste Recycling

Where does e-waste go?

Here at Eco smart World we’re concerned about what we (and you) throw away. Especially when we watched a video like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl2j83LCHss

In this video they say you can help by recycling your computer in a facility that doesn’t export its end of life goods overseas. We were having a hard time finding these locations – so I did a little research and came up with this list of helpful recycling depots across Canada.  Some shared that they do not send their waste overseas, others did not. If you know about other recycling depots in your province that take used electronics, please email me at info@ecosmartworld.com and we’ll add yours to the list.

Encorp Pacific in British Columbia seemed to have the biggest web presence of all of the sources found.

Alberta Recycling Management Authority.

Saskatchewan Recycling – Sweep It (please note, I was directed to this page but it does not state whether or not their recycling takes place locally or offshore.

Manitoba – Their “Green Manitoba” program is now closed, so this is an alternative list of places accepting e-waste recycling.

Ontario – The best resource I was able to find was a reuse program called RCT.  Other recycling programs didn’t specify where the e-waste was taken thereafter.

Quebec – The Electronic Recycling Association was the most helpful site that I found searching in English. They have locations in major cities across the country.  Their site also says they don’t send “harmful” waste overseas.

New Brunswick – The ERA seems to be a good place to start to get your e-waste recycled here.

Nova Scotia – With just under a year in operation– I’ll be keen to see how the Atlantic Canada Electronics Stewardship program is working.

Prince Edward Island – Try as I might, I was only able to find links to Charlottetown recycling pick up with the ERA. And, having said this, PEI was listed under the “other” locations.

Newfoundland – As with Price Edward Island, the ERA was the best source for pick up, in St. Johns.

What is clear from the resources found is that we really need to ask a lot of questions in order to determine if we can recycle our used electronics and where the end of their life will take them. In the meantime, this is a start.

  

Reducing Waste and Saving Money at the office is easier than you think.

Check out our guest post with the Eco-Office Gals for 5 things you can do to save you and your business money as well as reducing your footprint.

 

Thanks Eco-Office Gals for the opportunity to write with you. We look forward to doing it again sometime.