Academic Custodial Services “The Journey to Green Cleaning”

Western Washington University is recognized nationally for its successes, from its leadership as one of the most sustainable, “green” campuses in the nation by the Sierra Club to being named the top master’s granting institution in the Pacific Northwest by U. S. News and World Report Western boasts 15,000 students, and sits on 200+ acres with over 2.3 million square feet of academic cleaning space Academic Custodial Services (ACS) provides cleaning services for Western's academic and state supported facilities.

OUR MISSION….. Academic Custodial Services provides quality cleaning services using environmentally sustainable high performance products and processes to support Facilities Management’s stewardship of the campus community.

CLEANING APPROACH….. Academic Custodial Services uses "team cleaning" to maximize results with a focus on "Cleaning for Health." Team cleaning provides the needed efficiency gains to help offset reductions in cleanliness resulting from operating budget support not keeping pace with campus building growth.

TRAINING…..WE ARE ALL ABOUT TRAINED STAFF ACS has four training tracks for our staff: Cleaning Management Institute Certification Classes. (Once per custodian) Core Skills and Skill Maintenance (Rotational presentations) All subjects every two years. Leadership (Rotational Presentations) All subjects every two years. IICRC Specialist Training—Selected leaders and specialists.

MOVING TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY 1999 TO 2009…

1999 – Introduced Kaivac “touch less” restroom cleaning system – Introduced Back Pack High Filtration HEPA Vacuums 1999 – Introduced “Cleaning for Health” concepts – Introduced “Top Scrub and Recoating” for resilient flooring. (Reduces stripping to a 4 to 6 year cycle.) 2000 – Introduced Micro Fiber technology. (Reduces amount of cleaning products required, increases soil pickup & can be reused up to 600 times.) 2001 – Instituted new carpet restoration and maintenance plan using advanced drying techniques. (Reduces fungal and bacterial growth.) 2002 – Introduced line of “green” cleaning products (Sustainable Earth). JUST SAY NO! to cleaning chemicals with butyls, methyl ethers, phosphates, benzene, sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach), alcohol, and ammonia – Reduced non green products from 67 to 3 daily use products – Inaugurated Green Seal Floor Finish. No heavy metals (Zinc) in the waste stream.

MOVING TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY 1999 TO 2009… 2005 – Successfully implemented an SOP system to detail what tasks we perform and what products we perform it with emphasizing sustainability in cleaning services – Introduced flat micro fiber wet mops for spot and wet/damp mopping. No mop buckets needed – Initiated new employee orientation, a 60 hour training period in green and sustainable cleaning and cleaning for health – Purchased floor cleaning equipment (Tenant Echo technology) that uses “ionized water” as the only cleaning agent – Began to use ATP meter to assess cleaning effectiveness and establish metrics – Awarded Honorable Mention in American School and University “Green Cleaning” contest 2009 – Instituted use of “Breeze” work quality evaluative software – ACS wins national award for “Green Cleaning”.

A NEW ERA…..THE CHEMICAL FREE SOLUTION – Began research into Chemical Free cleaning technologies using activated water and high temperature steam vapor in place of green chemicals – ACS began using ActiveIon® a handheld device that uses electrical charges to temporarily alter regular tap water transforming it into a powerful cleaner–without using chemicals – 2012 ACS has eliminated the purchase, transfer, and waste of over $10k per year in chemical products – 2012 ACS has performed and continues to perform ATP testing verifying the cleaning results of using only activated/ionized water and micro fibers for restroom and daily surface cleaning – ACS wins Western Sustainability Award for using chemical free cleaning methods – ACS receives National Honorable Mention Award for “Green Cleaning.” ACS incorporates dry steam vapor machines into cleaning program for all hard surface floor care using only water.

WHAT’S NEXT? Continued research and innovations to our floor care program focusing on obtaining alternatives to standard acrylic or urethane based floor finishes (even when green seal certified (GS40). Commitment to using floor equipment using only H2O and no chemical products, and use of low moisture approved carpet cleaning strategies. Research into cleaning and disinfection using dry steam vapor technology. Partnering with Western’s Sustainability office investigating paper towel compost recycling as well as low voc hand dryers.