Green school cleaning services are a critical component of green school programs and initiatives. Clean and disinfect correctly. Remember to print on both sides or use […] In schools without an established environmental health program, forming a “green team” can help unify and strengthen indoor environmental health efforts. Anyone can join the Green Schools Alliance, but you don't need to be a part of a formal program to implement environment-friendly practices in your school. Then, check out the active ingredients in each product. Those steps and some important concepts will be identified here. It also builds trust throughout the community. Saving Lives, Protecting People. The hard part is figuring out where to start. Ditch the Disposables. View the Green Cleaning, Santitizing, and Disinfecting Toolkit webinar slides, or view individual sections of the toolkit below regarding green cleaning, santitizing and disinfectintg in child care settings. Work … Submit. Everyone plays a role in maintaining a healthy environment. 20. Healthy Indoor Environments in School Webinar Series. When UL Environment and the Healthy Schools Campaign wanted to know the status of green cleaning in the schools, they went straight to the source. After phasing green cleaning into all 180 schools in June 2008, Palm Beach County School District (Florida) projected annual Green Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting: A Toolkit for Early Care and Education . The Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC) Green Clean Schools program expands on these strategies. They’re also toxic to cleaning and maintenance staff. This checklist helps school officials understand their roles as liaisons and champions when establishing, backing, and monitoring policies and procedures. The program’s return on investment (ROI) can assuage worries about perceived costs and help build and sustain support for green cleaning. 5.2 Cleaning methods 5.3 Hong assesses the meeting room 5.4 Hong removes rubbish and litter 5.5 Hong dusts and spot cleans 5.6 Hong dresses the area Section 6 - Bathroom/Restroom cleaning 6.1 Introduction to microbes (germs) 6.2 How germs enter the body 6.3 Hand Washing 6.4 Cleaning and germs (microbes) 6.5 We are cleaning, not disinfecting Travel. View the on-demand webinars to learn about best ventilation and cleaning practices in schools. Green cleaning makes a healthier place for everyone at school. Comprehensive walk-through assessments should take place at regular intervals throughout the year; these inspections are the cornerstone of any thriving green cleaning program. The Green Schools Alliance provides students with a step-by-step plan to create a task force and reduce carbon emissions over a suggested two-year timetable. Six Steps to Clean and Disinfect Your School pdf icon [PDF]. Their helpful tool kit provides actions schools can take such as using daylight instead of overhead lighting, weatherizing windows and doors, and installing Energy Star appliances. Today’s tools can reduce chemical use, increase productivity and help decrease injuries. Green cleaning is a rapidly evolving field. Self-Checker. Reprinted with permission from Cleaning & Maintenance Management magazine. © Copyright Healthy Green Schools & Colleges, Guidelines for COVID-19 Cleaning and Disinfection, 2018 National Education Facilities Cleaning Survey. Let’s take a minute to think about all the harmful emissions that we release … Six steps to jumpstart your program and get it off the ground. IN SCHOOLS (CT PUBLIC ACT 09-81) The State of Connecticut is requiring that each local and regional board of education implement a green cleaning program for all school buildings and facilities in its district. It can help to describe desired actions and behaviors, such as reducing clutter to make it easier to clean classrooms, and suggest ways to reduce behaviors that hinder green cleaning practices. More information 5 steps to a greener school: use these ideas to for a discussion of environmental education in your classroom. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces (e.g., playground equipment, door handles, sink handles, drinking fountains) within the school and on school buses at least daily or between use as much as possible. Prepare Your School. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website. In just a few pages you’ll find everything you need to know about green cleaning in your school! Involving diverse team members—such as administrators, health officers, facilities staff, custodians, teachers, and parents—increases buy-in and commitment to your green cleaning efforts. Search × COVID-19. Always follow label directions on cleaning products and disinfectants. During the EPA IAQ Master Class Professional Training webinar Clean Bill of Health: How Effective Cleaning and Maintenance Can Improve Health Outcomes in Your School, Michael Jones, the Assistant Director for Facilities and Construction Services at Columbia Public Schools in Missouri, detailed how his district used documented changes in products and practices to save US$90,000 in just 3 years. A strong green cleaning program depends on cooperation and compliance from all school occupants, including teaching staff and students. Combining the success of HSC’s Green Clean Schools program with Green Seal’s technical and certification expertise, the Healthy Green Schools & Colleges program will provide facility managers and staff with verifiable standards, education, tools and resources to accelerate the uptake of practices that promote healthier and more sustainable school environments. In this post, I will share a variety of projects and activities that my own school has implemented to become an official “green school” in Michigan. It does this by decreasing the chance of exposure to harmful chemicals. These areas require both frequent cleaning and frequent assessment. GREEN CLEANING PROGRAM . Fill out our simple questionnaire to begin a green cleaning program assessment today. Initial steps to a green regime. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s School Health Policies and Practices Study of 2014, 66 percent of school districts had a schools health committee, and nearly 80 percent of those committees addressed the physical environment. 7 Steps to a Green School. Checklists to help guide your walk-through assessments are available in the, Percentage of funds spent on green purchases versus non-green purchases, Amount per student spent on cleaning products and equipment. You know the feeling. Green cleaning is a system that employs both green chemicals and green equipment. Green cleaning and green products make it safer and may reduce health problems that can be caused by traditional commercial cleaning products. If you’re a parent, concerned community member, or school employee looking to implement green cleaning practices, the Healthy Schools Campaign has a guide to help advocates for children’s health work towards a green cleaning policy. Baseline measures are essential to prioritizing actions, making a detailed written plan, and evaluating success to determine future activities. © Copyright 2020 ISSA. Healthy School Environments. The goal is not to completely sterilize the environment, but rather to decrease the pathogen load significantly to a point where disease transmission does not occur. Green Cleaning Plan Template. Just add students! Step one is all about preparing the school for green cleaning by creating a green team and assessing the current programs. EPA’s IAQ Tools for Schools guide provides strategies to promote specific actions that will help occupants implement green cleaning practices. Establish standard operating procedures addressing how an effective cleaning and hard floor and carpet maintenance … Most of the laws require schools to use green cleaning products, but they differ in how they establish criteria for meeting this requirement. There are steps that parents and students can take separately from their school to reduce energy use and waste, and students and parents can also work with their schools to determine the school's energy use and how to reduce it over time. It’s having a positive impact on health. Classroom desks, cafeteria tables, walls, chairs and bathroom surfaces all are designated as “high-touch” and likely to harbor significant concentrations of bacteria and bio-contamination. Successful implementation of a green cleaning policy also requires clear support from the school administration. Here are five tips to keep in mind before starting your walk-through assessment: Policies that address identification, selection, and use of appropriate green cleaning products contribute to a well-run green cleaning program. Effective green cleaning is more than simply purchasing and using specific products—it relies on teamwork to establish practices for using those products and to develop policies that ensure those practices are followed meticulously. To take an audit of what cleaning tools we were using, staff did assessments of every school custodial closet, mechanical room and cleaning cart. Cleaning and Disinfecting: Everyday steps, when someone is sick, and considerations for employers. She is well known in the region for outstanding customer service protocols — winning the 2017 Better Business Torch Award for Ethics & Integrity —and her energetic support of fair wages, employee benefits, and green cleaning practices. They surveyed the custodial executives at select K-12 schools and colleges, as well as consultants and educators for the cleaning industry. Achieving the buy-in of building occupants and owners is also essential. In an actionable talk, social entrepreneur Arunabha Ghosh lays out a five-step plan to put India on the path to cleaner, safer air -- and shows how every citizen can play an active role in getting there. Knowin… For 20 years she has worked with communities around the country and internationally facilitates events that generate action to address critical health and environmental issues. Green cleaning is about a simple product list, simple techniques and a simple goal: Cleaning for health and the environment. Want to get a clearer idea of what you’re really breathing? The transition from traditional cleaners can be easy. Some teachers choose to do additional cleaning. Teach Good Handwashing Habits. This step is designed to take the guesswork out of evaluating products and help you identify those that meet high standards for effectiveness, health and safety. Its purpose is to offer facility managers, school administrators, educators, parents, and citizens a wealth of free information and tools to promote adoption of effective green cleaning practices, leading to healthier indoor environments. Share. To get started, Lauren at Minimal Domesticity says to consider whether the product will be used for more than an hour. Selected products must meet your district’s particular goals for cleaning; most state and district policies that address green cleaning require chosen products that are safer for occupants, environmentally friendly and—most importantly—effective. By teaching children at a young age to be environmentally aware, you are building lifelong habits that could potentially make a dramatic difference in the future of the earth. 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