Procedures, Practices and Guideline Problems to DateThis is a featured page

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE's) Green Cleaning Committee

Procedures, Practices and Guideline
Problems to Date

January 15, 2009Judging justice

Committee Recommendations/Guidelines not promulgated

Promulgation: formal procedures for making rules (public comment, checks and balances for fair rulemaking)

DESE’s lack of transparency – problems with minutes, postings, document sharing & limited visibility for limited influence outside of committee make-up

DESE self-imposed rushed time frame not conducive to thorough investigation of current research, recommended standards or alternatives

DESE discouraged new information - DESE discouraged input from committee members with differing opinions or for questioning procedural irregularities by treating their research and concerns with intentional indifference, lack of responsiveness, and name-calling of those members

DESE'S over-reliance on (for-profit) industry


Industry safety claims with no substantiation

    DESE Hindrance of Science - Hinderance of bringing current science and medical literature to the committee table and the final document


    DESE failed to comply with constituents' requests to share the constituent’s concern letters with the committee members

    Products' qualifications difficult to decipher - Products recommended (Green Seal, Design for the Environment and Environmental Choice EcoLogo ) have technical qualifications for ingredient inclusion which are hard for non-industry individuals to decipher as opposed to ingredient disclosure lists that can be more easily researched

    Lack of Understanding by Committee Members - Approximately half of the committee members (at the final meeting by show of hands) still lacked understanding of product ingredients/ingredient criteria (Green Seal, Design for the Environment and Environmental Choice EcoLogo) that was being recommended

    "Environmentally Sensitive and Suitable" Needs More Clarity - When DESE states “Green Seal”, “Environmental Choice EcoLogo” and “Design for the Environment” products “are to be considered environmentally sensitive and suitable for purchase by schools and educational settings it does not make it clear that many of these products have the attributes of added fragrance and added dyes which are in conflict with DESE’s “Preferable Product Attributes.” (See page 8-9 item b. “no added fragrances or dyes”).

    DESE opposed to providing changes for sensitive unless enforcable by law

    Compare the original wording in the Illinois document that DESE was so intent on immolating to DESE's recommendations today.


    DESE changed criteria from committee's voted decisions
    DESE changed the air freshener criteria from the committees decision by majority vote. Committee voted that saying not to use air fresheners, but if you do…verbiage counter-productive and the “but if you do” part was to be removed. An over-rule to this change after the meeting by DESE.

    DESE changed urinal criteria regarding the use of urinal deodorizers from committee decision by majority vote. Committee voted to reword urinal deodorizer to state "Urinal deodorizers are traditionally blocks placed in urinals to reduce odors. Deodorizers should be eliminated altogether because some urinal deodorizers can inhibit lung health. Specifically, studies have shown that the ingredient Dichlorobenzene (PDCB) can be toxic to humans. More frequent cleaning and proper ventilation can eliminate the need for urinal deodorizers." DESE added but if urinal deodorizers are used....

    No definition of “no added fragrances or dyes.”
    The intent of the meeting decision was for formulators to not scent the formulations with fragrances nor dye their formulations for coloring purposes.

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    Keyword tags: Cleaning Guidelines Approved Green Cleaning Meeting January Green Problems to Date for MO Missouri DESE Green Committee Missouri DESE Green Problems Missouri Green Problems MO Green Cleaning Approved MO Green Cleaning Problems
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