MD stores still carrying banned dish soap?
As of July 1, Maryland stores are no longer supposed be selling dishwasher detergent containing phosphorus. The ban was enacted three years ago to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay, with the effective date delayed until this month to give detergent manufacturers time to reformulate their products.
But an enterprising Annapolis reporter found more than a week after the ban took effect that half the 10 stores she checked in the capital area still had some of the banned soap on their shelves. Finish (formerly Electra-Sol) Powerballs containing phosphorus were found at Giant, Safeway and Shoppers stores there, and one Safeway had old Cascade products containing phosphorus.
Hats off to Pamela Wood of the Annapolis Capital for watchdogging this.
Store managers contacted were quoted saying they'd promptly remove the banned items. Businesses could be fined up to $1,000 for selling, distributing or making a detergent containing phosphorus. There's also apparently a fine of up to $100 for using the wrong detergent, though the Maryland Department of the Environment isn't about to demand to check what's under your sink.
The fine on use is perhaps meant to dissuade residents from going out of state to buy phosphorus-containing detergents, as occurred initially in Spokane, WA after a similar ban took effect there. That'll be harder here, as according to this report, 16 states just banned phosphate-laced detergents, including neighboring Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Is your store P-free now? Let us know if you find banned products on your neighborhood store shelves. It may not be that easy to tell, though, as there's no standard labeling requirement. Some brands boast "phosphate free" prominently on the label, while with others you may have to read the ingredients fine print, and even then it may not be conclusive.
By itself, the phosphorus dish detergent ban represents no more than a tiny step toward a cleaner bay. Sewage treatment plants, farm animal manure and even pet waste are all likely larger sources of the nutrient that, along with nitrogen, creates the dead zone that forms ever summer in the middle of the Chesapeake. But it's an important symbolic step nonetheless, coming decades after the state banned phosphate-laced laundry detergent and shortly after it moved to curb phosphorus in lawn fertilizer.
Unfortunately, Consumer Reports says that phosphorus-containing dish detergents are tops at cleaning dishes. But its latest round of testing has found several brands with little or no phosphates that also do a pretty good job, notably Cascade, Ecover, Method and Simplicity.
What's your experience with P-free dish soap or dishwasher detergent? Do your glasses and plates get as clean as before? Any products (or techniques) seem to work better for you than others?
Comments
Animal waste runnoff from PA is the primary source of nutrient input into the Bay. This is a band-aid on a sucking chest wound. Good job Maryland, typical...........
BTW, you can order electra-sol over the internet.
TW: Farm runoff is the largest single contributor of nutrients into the bay, but that includes more than just animal waste. And while the Susquehanna is a major influence on water quality in the upper bay, the manure washing off Pennsylvania farms isn't the sole culprit for the bay's dead zone. There are lots of non-agricultural sources of nutrients as well, and those engaged in trying to restore the bay say it'll require reductions across the board to succeed.
Part of the logic behind restricting phosphorus in detergents and lawn fertilizer is that everyone is contributing to the problem, so everyone should help with the solution.
Before you go smuggling phosphate detergents in via Internet, have you at least tried the low-and no-phos formulations to see how they clean your dishes?
Posted by: mdr | July 17, 2010 4:34 AM
Earth Friendly’s WAVE Auto Dishwasher Gel was also proven as effective as Cascade in independent studies – more good news to help keep Maryland’s water clean and livable for wildlife.
(Consumer Testing Laboratories, Inc. compared the physical characteristics of each brand including solubility, anti-suds formation and pH reading with Cascade exhibiting a pH higher reading (11) than Wave® (7). Both products were tested for their ability to remove a variety of soils from a set of identically soiled test dishes. Tests proved that both gel detergents performed well, removing all of the test soils. All of the test dishes, tumblers, and flatware were judged as comparable for spotting, filming, and soil removal following the dishwashing tests.) website: www.ecos.com
TW: FYI, this from PR rep for Wave.
Posted by: Susan | July 19, 2010 4:08 PM
Yes, the non-phosphorus soaps don't get your dishes clean. Oregon and Washington states have instituted this madness, and people are so disgusted with the dirty dishes that they are ordering the good stuff online--good business on Ebay. Now, govt officials in both states are beginning enforcement measures including searching under your sink, so that WILL be coming.
TW: So greg have you tried the non-phos soaps yourself? I have, and noticed more stuck-on food particles on certain glass bowls after diswhashing. So I've resorted to pre-rinsing them. Other than that, haven't really seen much difference. Maybe it's my dishwasher, but using phosphate detergents didn't remove all stuck-on food, either.
Enforcement is tricky, to be sure. Instead of having gov't inspectors check under sinks, seems it would be more effective (and less intrusive) for gov't to go after online merchants who ship the products to states where they're banned.
Posted by: greg shipley | July 21, 2010 12:01 PM