What is a Green Washroom?
A Green Washroom is one that creates the smallest possible wastewater disposal burden, with the lowest possible concentration of chemicals and minimizes ancillary product consumption (i.e. paper products) yet provides the necessary sanitation capabilities. The washrooms at the Earth Rangers Center for Sustainable Technology go much further – by selecting cleaning supplies and hand soaps that exclude common toxic ingredients that have potential harmful effects. Natural, plant based, biodegradable agents are used as active ingredients in soaps, and efficient fixtures minimize the use of water.
How do we use it?
1. Water usage reduction:
Our Green Washrooms feature urinals that use 90% less water per flush and toilets that use 25% less water per flush than target building code standards. Low flow aerators minimize water consumption on hands free sink fixtures that are powered by small solar collectors. Using Green Cricket Foaming Hand Wash reduces water consumption, disposal and waste by providing instant lather.
2. Environmentally sustainable, human healthy cleaning products:
Toxic chemicals will upset the delicate balance of bacteria that process sewage in the ERC treatment plant. Despite environmental certification, many cleaning products including hand soaps often contain ingredients that are known human health hazards such as SLS, SLES, parabens, PEG, artificial fragrances and colours. All Green Cricket Foaming Hand Wash and Cleaning Products are family, pet and septic friendly, meet or exceed EcoLogo requirements, and use natural, plant based, biodegradable agents as active ingredients.
How does it make us more sustainable?
The ERC’s Green Washroom water usage reduction initiative provides proof of leadership in managing the quality and quantity of water resources. It is important because Canadians are among the largest users of fresh water in the world. Drinking water is a scarce resource that needs to be conserved and maintained, for future generations. Chemicals in cleaning products can contribute to water pollution and impact human health, dramatically affecting ecosystems. Using naturally derived cleaning agents from Green Cricket and low consumption fixtures improves water quality without sacrificing sanitation requirements.