by Brianna Crandall — February 10, 2014—Stephen Ashkin, president of The Ashkin Group and a longtime proponent of green cleaning, announces that his writings as well as much of the consulting work provided by his company in 2014 will focus on three key areas, all of which affect the professional cleaning, building and facilities management industries.
Those three areas are:
- Paper: “The issue with paper, specifically sanitary paper products, is that while recycling has proved successful, recycling alone will not meet the world’s paper needs in the 21st century,” says Ashkin. “We need to start discussing this issue and explore other strategies.”
- Plastic: As for plastic can liners, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines program requires only 10 percent post-consumer recycled content. But Ashkin points out that often the bag being used is either too large for the container, thicker than necessary, or so thin that it requires double-bagging for it not to rip or leak, and that these common practices waste resources and money.
- No-chemical or less cleaning: Ashkin advocates the use of cleaning methods that require little or no chemicals, such as electrolyzed cleaning systems, which he says appear to be effective in many situations, safe, green, and increasingly a cost-effective way to perform a number of cleaning tasks. “This technology has existed for more than 40 years, and we know it can be used for cleaning surfaces,” says Ashkin. “The big change is that these systems are becoming easier to use and more cost effective. That should increase their chances of being viewed as viable green cleaning alternatives in the near future.”
While these three topics will be Ashkin’s primary areas of interest in 2014, he adds that green cleaning will still be a central theme in his writings and his company’s focus. “Green cleaning is ever evolving, and we need to keep educating people about these changes and how our end customers can operate their facilities in a greener and more sustainable manner.”
Stephen P. Ashkin is president of The Ashkin Group, a consulting firm specializing in greening the cleaning industry, and CEO of Sustainability Dashboard Tools, which offers a cloud-based dashboard that allows organizations to measure, report and improve their sustainability efforts. He is also coauthor of both The Business of Green Cleaning and Green Cleaning for Dummies. Ashkin has worked in the cleaning industry since 1981 and has held senior management positions in leading consumer and commercial product companies. He began his work on green cleaning in 1990.
