Yes

by Raymond Alexander Kukkee

Created on: November 24, 2007   Last Updated: February 26, 2011

It is a curious thing.  Environmentally safe solutions for cleaning problems of most types already exist, and some products today are even officially classified as biodegradable, yet the general population does not specifically demand or use that as a criteria for purchasing cleaning products.

For the uninitiated, perhaps a simple explanation is required. The characteristic of biodegradability of any chemical product suggests component chemical compounds  will break down quickly into harmless elements such as oxygen or hydrogen, or break down to a basic and simple reduced compound of them;   for example, to ordinary water, some basic minerals, or other compounds generally considered to be natural, benign,  and therefore harmless in the environment .

Many people are unaware that complex organic compounds in chemical products  can persist in the environment  for many years.   Freon, a refrigerant, is a good example of the longevity  of a chemical compound in the environment.  Even fewer people realize that many organic compounds may not only continue to exist in their original state,  but may combine  with other reactive chemicals in the environment, resulting in even more  complex and dangerous  compounds.  Allowing toxic waste into the environment is not the end of the insidious process.   Already- toxic chemical compounds,   both organic and inorganic types,  and any  inadvertent  combination of those already complex chemical compounds, can and do  react  further  with other compounds to form ever-increasingly complex forms of toxic waste.    Organic compounds of almost any nature can continue to react  indefinitely  under ideal conditions of temperature, moisture, or the influence of catalytic agents.  In the natural environment,  thousands of yet unidentified and unknown compounds can be formed.

The fact is, at any given time, nobody really knows how many complex organic chemical substances and combinations of those substances exist in the environment as a result of the offerings of the chemical and petroleum industries.  This complex process, unfortunately, can include chemical compounds found in ordinary,  everyday cleaning products. Ammonia and ionic surfactants are but two examples. 

Does the environmentally concerned portion of the population use environment-friendly products exclusively ?  Perhaps more so than the general population, but even individuals who admit they know the consequences of doing otherwise  continue to use products that are harmful to the environment.   Why?

The simple explanation is that unfriendly, non-biodegradable products are conveniently sold in stores everywhere.  They are offered in the marketplace, they are familiar to the consumer, and and they are easily used.    The most important factor is that they ARE available.

Clearly, if non-biodegradable cleaning products were not offered in the marketplace, they would not be used.   On the surface, it seems very simple. People are creatures of habit. If a cleaning product works satisfactorily when purchased, the hook is set, it will be purchased repeatedly, no matter that it is environmentally harmful and no matter that there may be better products that clean as efficiently -or perhaps even do a better job.   Consumers  will  continue to buy old, familiar and harmful products because of branding, habit, and the status quo.

Consumers are also  introduced to,  and buy  products that are not environmentally friendly because of  endless advertising by unscrupulous manufacturers that consider only profit important.  For these businesses, biodegradability of cleaning products is not an issue.   Inertia of the status quo must be overcome by logic, effort, and the willpower to effect change.

Paradoxically, leaders and politicians of all stripes paint themselves as   'Environmentally Green' but fail to initiate legislation that would require all cleaning products, manufactured or offered,  to be biodegradable.  Chemical compounds in the environment clearly cause illness and kill people.  It may be convenient to believe otherwise, but it is naive to do so.

With the staggering increases in the incidence of cancers that are known to be caused by carcinogenic chemical compounds it seems logical that civilization would minimize use of all chemicals where possible. In today's marketplace,  but even with those statistics,  logic seemingly  does not apply.

Ironically, cases of hyper allergies, lung diseases such as emphysema,  the mysterious catch-all Fibromyalgia and unusual autoimmune diseases appear to be increasing exponentially in number and complexity with our "clean"  society  as the environment becomes more polluted with ever-increasing complex chemical compounds.
The cause of many of these disease conditions is 'reportedly unknown'  but is more likely simply not acknowledged.  Perhaps it is time for money to take second place to the health and well being of human beings.   The truth about some chemical products we use may be frightening.

With the preliminary knowledge base now in existence listing the harmful effects resulting from the endless, arbitrary and willful pouring of chemical compounds into the environment, it is irresponsible not  to insist that cleaning products be required to be biodegradable by law.

Should all cleaning products be required to be biodegradable by law?  A resounding Yes.

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