MD School System Achieves a Cleaning First

July 17th, 2013 • BY

The Howard County public school system in Maryland is the nation’s first to achieve Green Seal Certification for custodial cleaning services.  Green Seal reports that the “Green Cleaning Program,” developed by the Howard County Public School System, has qualified for certification under its GS-42 standard, which states that a cleaning service must use products and equipment “that have less impact on the environment and that it adopt processes and procedures that help protect human health and the environment for building occupants and custodial staff.”    ANNUAL TRAINING Green Seal’s cleaning service standard also requires that the institution’s custodial staff achieve a specified amount of training annually, as well requiring that each building participating in the program have a stated cleaning plan.   “The Howard County Public School System has done a phenomenal job in developing and advancing their Green Cleaning Program to protect the health of their students, faculty and staff,” reports Dr. Arthur Weissman, president and CEO of Green Seal. “They are truly a trailblazer for schools nationwide in demonstrating how to improve cleaning services for health and environment.”  According to Green Seal, the school system worked with the Building Wellness Institute (BWI) in meeting the requirements of Green Seal certification.    STAFF SUCCESS “The Green Seal certification process has certainly been a great opportunity to enhance our knowledge and awareness of green cleaning,” says Olivia Claus, manager of custodial services for Howard County Schools. “The criteria advanced by Green Seal helped us implement environmentally sound practices and enhance overall care of our buildings. Our custodial staff has done an outstanding job using green products and applying the techniques they learned as part of this process. Earning certification is great recognition of their efforts.”  The GS-42 standard can be downloaded and applications for certification can be made on-line at www.greenseal.org.    Source: Green Seal, www.greenseal.org