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Why did they remove phosphates from detergent?
Unilever’s research showed phosphates had a higher greenhouse gas impact than other ingredients. Mr Dee said the ban was expected to reduce the environmental damage of the estimated 1.9 billion loads of laundry Australians do every year.
When were phosphates removed from dishwasher detergent?
July 1, 2010
On July 1, 2010, major cleaning product manufacturers finished removing phosphates from all home automatic dishwasher detergents sold in the U.S. The reformulation, the result of new laws in 16 states, was heralded as a win for the environment.
Are phosphates in detergents bad?
Phosphates are added to laundry detergents to soften water and keep dirt in the laundry water. However, when phosphates get into water sources, such as lakes or rivers, it “leads to algae growth and poor water quality,” according to the U.K. government agency, Environment Agency.
What’s wrong with phosphates?
The disadvantage of using phosphates is that they remain in wastewater and eventually make their way to a natural body of water. While phosphates are low toxicity, they instead cause nutrient pollution and feed the algae. This leads to eutrophication and harmful algal bloom.
Do any laundry detergents have phosphates?
Modern laundry detergents no longer contain phosphates due to a ban passed in 1993. The law, however, did not apply to dishwasher detergents, many of which still contain phosphates; some states are moving to ban (or at least limit) phosphates in such detergents.
Why is phosphate banned?
Seventeen states banned phosphates from dishwasher detergents because the chemical compounds also pollute lakes, bays and streams. They create algae blooms and starve fish of oxygen. It just wasn’t feasible to make detergent with phosphates for some states and without them for others.
What happens when you ban phosphate in laundry detergent?
Common intuition is that banning a pollutant leads to an improvement in environmental quality. This was the case when phosphates in household laundry detergent were banned in the 1970s. However, since that time, phosphorus limits have been introduced at many wastewater treatment facilities.
Where can I find phosphate free detergents?
After highly publicized campaigns against the use of phosphates in household detergents, as well as in outdoor cleaning jobs, some manufacturers offer phosphate-free alternatives for consumer cleaning. Many can be found in natural food stores. Brantley Duke has been a writer in Seattle, Washington since 2007.
Which is laundry detergents contain phosphates and Suds concentrate?
Detergents with phosphates: HTD Heavy Duty Detergent (strongest detergent) Low Suds Concentrate (has a higher percentage of phosphates than others)
Why are phosphate bans good for the environment?
Instead, the bans provide a cost savings to the facility by lowering the amount of phosphorus influent it must treat to meet its limit. Consequently, in areas served by limit facilities, we expect that these bans will have little-to-no effect on phosphorus entering the rivers, streams, and lakes in which these facilities discharge.