INTENTIONS by Becca Anderson
GREEN
How green is our industry? As green as each individual operator or supplier. Collectively, however, the industry in Canada has made strides in recent decades to become more environmentally friendly in ways that go beyond simple recycling of polyfi lm and hangers.
GREEN IS MORE THAN SLOGANS Any company can find something to tout as a green initiative, even if it’s just recycling hangers. Truly being green, however, is a company-wide mindset. It requires looking at each part of the business to determine what should be done in that area to protect the envi- ronment, not tacking on a little program as a quick fix. When approached in this manner, the slogans and promotional materials write themselves. They come from the organic nature of the business commitment to environmental issues.
ARE WE REALLY DOING THAT BADLY? News breaks regularly now about specifi c plant owners being fi ned or even arrested for mishandling of perc or other violations of Environment Canada regulations. If that’s all you read, you’d think the industry is in sham- bles. That is simply not the case.
According to CAREX Canada, the industry has made
good on the stipulations for improvement. CAREX (CAR- cinogen EXposure) describes itself as, “a multi-institution research project that combines academic expertise and government resources to generate an evidence-based carcinogen surveillance program for Canada.” The Envi- ronment Canada regulations introduced in 2003 and updated in 2011 were designed to reduce the use of perc in dry cleaning to 1,600 tonnes per year. As of 2016, the actual use fi gure was 600 tonnes per year. The reduction in usage has come about due to indus- try education, improvements in dry cleaning machine technology, closed-loop delivery and recycling systems, introduction of workable new solvents or systems, and enforcement by Environment Canada. An issue the industry must face, however, is the turnover in owner- ship of plants. New owners who are not educated in the proper use and handling of solvents are inspected and found in violation regularly. The news stories from these incidents give the whole industry a black eye. Mandatory training would go a long way to close up this hole in the system, as would encouraging exiting owners to convey all pertinent information to new owners.
ONTARIO’S MANDATORY TRAINING For several years, Ontario dry cleaning plants have been required to have a person on staff who has gone
12 FABRICARE CANADA March/April 2018
through mandatory training from Seneca College in Toron- to (either in person or via cor- respondence) to ensure best practices and regulations are met. With 3,300 dry cleaners on record when the program launched, the college enrolled 3,000 of them in the initial sweep through the province. Those certifi ed are required to re-certify every fi ve years. Each course costs just under $600. According to William Hum- ber at Seneca College, he and his team are open to expanding the program to other provinc- es (via correspondence course or online) if the government agrees and provincial regula- tions can be satisfied. Going forward, it would be great to see this happen.
INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT? Trying to get a full picture of what percentage of the indus- try in Canada is using perc, versus another solvent or wet cleaning, is like trying to grab a greased octopus. No such statistics are kept, and opera- tors are changing their solvents and processes all the time (case in point, our look at Fishman’s Cleaners in this issue). When alternative solvents and processes fi rst started crop- ping up, the talk was about, “Which solvent should I use?” Many operators viewed it as an either/or situation – use perc or use something else exclusively. As an abundance of options have made it to the market- place, operators have taken a step back from the unilateral position and many are running different machines with differ- ent solvents. Some things just clean better in perc, they’ll tell you. We’ve profiled compan- ies in these pages that utilize as many as three different sol- vents and wet cleaning, too. Manufacturers continue to
refine their machine designs, solvents and detergent formu- las to give optimal cleaning for a broad array of garments. Dry cleaners are experiment- ing all the time with what their equipment and solvent can do, and adjusting processes accord- ingly. Sometimes that leads to taking on another solvent for special situations, or tacking on wet cleaning options to their offerings. This further mud-
dies the water on who is using what, but our best guess at this time is that less than 60% of the Canadian industry is using perc.
SERIOUS BUSINESS There are no regulations for other solvents like there are for perc. The fine regime for violations of proper perc han- dling range from $5,000 for a summary conviction of an individual, up through $6 mil- lion for larger corporations and shippers as a maximum fi ne. All fines are doubled for second offences. The court is required to fi ne offenders ‘an addition- al fine equal to any benefit, advantage or property gained as a result of the offence,’ according to the Environmen- tal Enforcement Act. Fines are directed to the Environmental Damages Fund (EDF), which issues the funds for restoration and environmental protection projects.
Changing equipment and solvents is also a big expense to a company. If machines need to be replaced, or at a minimum completely cleaned out prior to dropping in a new solvent, the money involved is substantial. Downtime and learning curve on the new process are also factors. It might sound unfair, but in reality, dry cleaning, wet cleaning and laundry compan- ies are just that, companies. There are expenses, restrictions and responsibilities. As equip- ment and chemistry become more sophisticated, it is less feasible for anyone entering the industry to think this is an easy, care-free business. It requires attention and diligence.
HOW GREEN ARE YOUR GLASSES?
How do you view green efforts in your business? If it’s nothing but a nuisance, you’re on the wrong track. As a company that utilizes natural resources and has an impact on the envi- ronment, you can’t afford to disregard your responsibilities. The great thing is that when green is in the lifeblood of the company, you make your company stand out, and help improve public perception of the entire industry. Hats off to those who are making that effort. n
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