Green Cleaning Other State and Federal Policies and Guidelines

The law for green cleaning does not supersede or change existing health, labor, education and environmental regulations and professional guidance related to cleaning and maintenance practices and disposal of hazardous chemicals. The additional laws, guidelines and professional guidance that under certain circumstances supersede the law for green cleaning are provided below:

Health and Sanitary Codes under Title 10

• Food Service Establishments (Subpart 14-1): Equipment and Utensil Cleaning and Sanitation - Sections 14-1.110 thru 14-1.117
• Plumbing - Sections 14-1.143
• Construction and Maintenance of Physical Facilities - Sections 14-1.172 and 14-1.173
• Swimming Pools (Subpart 6-1): Operation, Supervision and Maintenance - Section 6-1.10 and Bathhouse and Toilet Facilities - Section 6-1.15 See the NYSDOH website for additional information NYCRR Title 10 (Note: Once at the Website click "Search Title 10" to find Sections)
• MRSA School Guidelines

Child Day Care Centers (Subpart 418-1.11) under NYCRR Title 18

For information and/or copies of Part 418 please contact:

Office of Children and Family Services
52 Washington Avenue
Rensselaer, NY 12144
(518) 402-3294 or 473-3236

• Regulations on general housekeeping
• Hazard communication
• Blood borne pathogen requirements (e.g. nurse’s offices, gymnasiums, laboratories, etc).

See the OSHA website for additional information: www.osha.gov

• Regulations on general housekeeping
• Hazard communication
• Blood borne pathogen requirements (e.g. nurse’s offices, gymnasiums, laboratories, etc).

See the NYS Labor website for additional information: https://dol.ny.gov/safety-health-frequently-asked-questions

• Building Condition Survey §155.4(b)(1)(ii)(m) Environmental features, including cleanliness shall be inspected and reported as part of the building condition survey (Public Schools only).
• Annual Visual Inspection §155.4(2)(ii) Environmental features, including cleanliness, shall be re-inspected and reported as part of the annual visual inspection process (Public Schools only).

Disposal of Cleaning Products

The Department of Environmental Conservation's Waste Management website will provide information on existing regulatory programs related to Hazardous Waste and Solid Waste, however, there is no specific information regarding the disposal of cleaning products. Therefore, the following information was provided by the DEC Solid & Hazardous Materials Unit to address this issue:

• It is incumbent upon any entity that generates a solid waste to make a determination if in fact their waste is hazardous. Under the regulations, this can be accomplished by testing (TCLP: Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure: Soil sample extraction method for chemical analysis) or by knowledge which is verifiable. It is important to know the contents of materials and products being used, and with any contamination, the waste may have acquired during its normal use.
• Product information is available from manufacturers and distributors. Products which don't provide this information should be avoided. When a generator gathers all the information which is reasonably available to them, then they should be able to make a proper waste determination. Once that is accomplished, the department can easily advise them as to disposal which is safe and in compliance with environmental law and regulation.

Further Clarification on Disposal of Cleaning Products

As the legislation does not preclude schools from depleting existing cleaning and maintenance supply stores of non-green products purchased prior to September 1, 2006,  and EO134 allows state agencies to transition togreen cleaning products by July 2005 in such a manner that avoids waste of existing inventories, accommodates establishment of supply chains for new products, enables the training of personnel in appropriate work practices, and allows the phase out of products and practices inconsistent with EO134, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recommends that existing chemicals be used to completion instead of disposing of them as waste.

If a school or state agency does not want to use up the non-green products still in stock, then DEC recommends that they contact a private hauler for the management and disposal of bulk quantities of waste. This explanation should not be seen as an authorization to purchase non-green products, but as a realistic and reasonable manner to move into compliance with the school legislation and with EO 134 for state agencies, while also meeting the intent of reducing the impact of cleaning schools or State Facilities and not disposing of cleaning products in a harmful manner.

If the schools or state agencies still have questions after going through their waste inventory with a private hauler, or have questions pertaining to a specific chemical, DEC suggests they contact the Small Quantity Generator Hotline at 800-462-6553 or the DEC Pollution Prevention Unit at 518-402-9469