GREENFIELD – Through a collaborative project with the Greenfield Health Department, three local restaurants and two schools are now using less-toxic chemicals to sanitize their equipment.
The People’s Pint, Hope & Olive, Magpie Woodfired Pizza, Green Fields Market, the Greenfield Middle School and Greenfield Community College all participated in a grant-funded program to introduce the safer products, which are designed to protect people’s health and reduce environmental pollution.
Bri Eichstaedt of the local Health Department said health officials heard about the grant from the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s Toxic Use Reduction Institute through the Franklin Regional Council of Governments.
“We applied and got a $10,000 grant to reduce toxins in sanitizers in restaurants,” she said.
Working with TURI, which collaborates with businesses, community organizations and government agencies to reduce the use of toxic chemicals, protect public health and the environment and increase competitiveness of Massachusetts businesses, the department spent eight months analyzing each of the restaurant’s cleaning product use, expenses and needs.
Then, health officials provided each with a pilot-supply of BruTabs, which contain sodium troclosene, an EPA-registered food-grade sanitizer that doesn’t include bleach.
“We provided them all with hopefully a six-month supply of sanitizer, which is the BruTab,” she said. “The tabs clean with chlorine, but they don’t include any bleach like other sanitizers do. It still works just as well,” she said.
Tyler Sullivan of M. D. Stetson, a Randolph-based janitorial products company, said the mix registers a 1 on the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration’s safety data sheet system, while bleach scores 3 out of 4 for toxicity.
“You could put it on your skin, and it won’t hurt you,” he said. “If you put it on your clothes, it won’t stain.”
The department also supplied less toxic multi-surface cleaners and degreasers.
Since BruTab comes in tablet form, their shelf life is longer than liquid bleach or other liquid cleaning chemicals. Once diluted, it lasts for a week in spray bottles.
Shipping costs are lower, too, because they’re so small, which increases sustainability, Eichstaedt said. It also helps with restaurants’ operational costs.
“We know cost matters to them,” she said.
Josh Breitner, the Pint’s general manager, said the program offers the restaurant an opportunity to easily shift to greener, more environmentally friendly cleaning products.
“The health department contacted all the restaurants in town and asked us if we’d be interested,” said Breitner. “We’re really focused on being as green as we can, from trying to reduce energy usage to sourcing our food responsibly and, obviously, making sure we’re not dumping toxic chemicals down the drain or exposing our customers to them. If it lets us do that, we’re all for it.”
Greenfield’s Health Department was recently recognized by the state for its work on the project.
You can reach Tom Relihan at:
413-772-0261, ext 264,
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On Twitter,@RecorderTom