This is going to a diversion from the recent, incredibly well-researched, thoughtful posts about environmental solutions to state a simple outrage. I live only about a block from the nearest dry cleaner, ZIPS. So when I pick up my dry cleaning, in no way do I need it in a very large plastic bag. I most certainly don't need a plastic bag around EACH item. The sheer amount of plastic used by every dry cleaner on a daily basis is astounding....and incredibly frustrating. ZIPS brags on their website that they have dry cleaned over 72.6 million linens. And that is ONE dry cleaning company, which is only regional. Each of those items come back to the customer not only with a plastic bag, but a metal hook. Since you had the linen at home before you brought it, you clearly already had a hook for it, so the new one is unnecessary. Of course you need one to bring it home on, but there is another, even profitable, option. Check it out!
Here are some of my suggestions for ZIPS and other dry cleaners-
1. AT LEAST have a plastic bag recycling center in a prominent place in your store.
2. Give customers the options as to whether they would like the plastic bags or not, ask whether they have their own bag to pick it up in.
3. Use the environmentally friendly (and business friendly) hooks!
4. DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT throw out plastic bags that people do not want.
5. Stop using "perc" (explained below)!
Even though all of this really annoys me, I have still been going to the dry cleaner to get my dress clothes done. Upon further research however, there are other options. This option might be costly and inconvenient, but it seems like there should be some more eco-friendly way to get the job done...maybe this.
Overall it actually seems like the most damaging thing that dry cleaners do to the environment is the use of a hazardous air pollutant called perchloroethylene. The dangers in "perc" and the alternatives can be found here.
I also encourage all of you to contact ZIPS asking them to change their policy, or find the address of a ZIPS close to you and bring in your letter to the manager. Or take the same action with any dry cleaner near you. That might be the best course of action, and most likely to get a response I would think. Give it a shot, and if you get a response, please send it to us at environmentaloutrage@gmail.com and we will post it here!
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20 comments:
This was great! There's a GreenEarth affiliated cleaner three blocks from my house! I never would have known.
I contacted ZIPS via the "General Inquiry" rather than the specific store nearby, in the hopes that they'll make the changes in all of their stores (but I put my city at the bottom of the letter, so they'll know which store I go to). Here's what I said:
"Dear ZIPS,
As a concerned customer interested in causing as little damage to the environment as possible, I ask you to consider the following actions:
1. Please install plastic bag recycling centers in a prominent places in your stores.
2. Give customers the options as to whether they would like the plastic bags or not, ask whether they have their own bag to pick it up in.
3. Use the environmentally friendly (and business friendly) hooks! Information is here: http://www.triplepundit.com/pages/ecohangars-improve-ecoeffectiv-002410.php
4. DO NOT throw out plastic bags that people don't want.
5. Please stop using harsh, dangerous solvents based on carbon chemistry. Liquid silicone is an effective, safer, more environmentally friendly method. You can find more information here: http://www.greenearthcleaning.com/
Please let me know when you make these changes. Until then, I will be taking my business to one of the GreenEarth Affiliated cleaners nearby.
Thank you,
[my name]
Washington DC"
Great post! The US EPA has a great website with several GIS mapping databases where you can enter your zip code and learn about environmental hazards in your area. http://www.epa.gov/epahome/whereyoulive.htm
My preffered database is EnviroFacts/EnviroMapper. "Use EnviroMapper to map various types of environmental information, including air releases, drinking water, toxic releases, hazardous wastes, water discharge permits, and Superfund sites for your area of interest." http://www.epa.gov/enviro/. Not surprisingly, several dry-cleaners come up in an average query. Incidentally, ZIPS is a franchise and does not always come up as ZIPS.
A note of warning: such sophisticated GIS tools will take forever to load if you have a slow internet connection. If for some reason you still use dial-up, don't even bother.
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