- Scope
This standard establishes environmental requirements for general purpose household cleaners.
For purposes of this standard, general purpose household cleaners are cleaning products specifically marketed as suitable for cleaning common household surfaces. They do not include task-specific cleaners, such as bathroom tub and tile cleaners, scouring cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners, carpet/upholster cleaners, glass cleaners, laundry and dishwashing detergents, spot/stain removers, oven cleaners, or drain cleaners. General purpose household cleaners also do not include products which have as their sole purpose disinfection, but they do include products that claim to both clean and disinfect.
- Definitions
2.1 Concentrate: a liquid product that contains less than 20% water by weight.
2.2 Ingredient: any constituent with which a product is formulated.
2.3 Primary packaging: the material physically coming into contact with and containing the product.
2.4 Post-consumer material: finished products, packages or materials generated by a business or consumer that have served their intended end uses, and that have been recovered from or otherwise diverted from the waste stream for the purpose of recycling.
2.5 Recovered material: material that has been recovered from or otherwise diverted from the waste generated after a material manufacturing process. Recovered material may include post-consumer material, cuttings, trimmings, obsolete inventories, and rejected unused stock, but does not include material capable of being re-used within the process that generated it.
2.6 Secondary packaging: any packaging or material other than primary packaging, including wrappers, boxes, and blister packs, but excluding shipping containers.
- Product Specific Performance Requirements
3.1 The product shall clean common household surfaces effectively, as measured by comparison tests conducted in accordance with ASTM D 4488-85, Standard Guide for Testing Cleaning Performance of Products Intended for Use on Resilient Flooring and Washable Walls. Performance of the product shall be compared to the standard cleaning solution described in Test Method A6, Oil, Carbon Black and Clay/White Enamel Painted Stainless-Steel Panels Test Method, and shall be tested on four soil types: crayon, ball point pen, pencil, and a grease/oil mixture prepared as described in Test Method A2, Greasy Soil/Painted Masonite Wallboard Test Method. A product meeting the performance criteria shall have a cleaning performance of at least 80% of the cleaning performance of the standard cleaning solution on any two of the four soil types when tested as diluted with water at room temperature as per the manufacturer's instructions on the use of the product.
3.2 In lieu of section 3.1, data may be accepted from efficacy testing that is conducted by the manufacturer under objective, reproducible laboratory conditions and that clearly demonstrates that the product cleans common household surfaces effectively.
- Product Specific Environmental Requirements
4.1 Product Toxicological Requirements
4.1.1 The product shall not be required to be labeled because it is toxic or highly toxic, as defined by Consumer Product Safety Commission regulations found at 16 C.F.R. Chapter II, Subchapter C, Part 1500.
4.1.2 The product shall not be formulated with ingredients that are listed in the latest edition of the Annual Report on Carcinogens, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Toxicology Program. The product shall not be formulated with ingredients known to cause reproductive toxicity, as listed by the State of California under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, excluding ethanol [Cal. Code of Regulations, Title 22, Division 2, Subdivision 1, Chapter 3, Sections 12000 et seq.].
Notwithstanding this provision, a product may be formulated with substances cited in section 2.6 of this standard up to the levels specified in that section. Chloroform (as trihalomethanes) and other chlorinated organics that are listed as carcinogens or reproductive toxins and that are byproducts of the chlorination treatment of water may be present if concentrations are below ten times the applicable Maximum Contaminant Levels in the National Primary Drinking Water Standards at 40 C.F.R. Part 141.
4.2 Product Environmental Requirements
4.2.1 The product shall not be toxic to aquatic life, as measured by test methods found in 40 C.F.R. Part 797, Sub part B, and as determined by meeting the following three criteria for acute (Daphnia or fish), acute (algae), and chronic (Daphnia) effects:
acute: EC50 Daphnia (48 hr.) >10 mg/l; or LC50 fish (96 hr.) >10 mg/l
acute: EC50 algae (96 hr.) >10 mg/l
chronic: EC50 Daphnia (21-day or >10 mg/l 14-day minimum)
For purposes of demonstrating compliance with this requirement, the testing prescribed by the regulations is not required for the product if sufficient information exists concerning each ingredient, either in peer-reviewed literature or databases or based on tests that are conducted according to standard procedures, to demonstrate that the product is not toxic to aquatic life.
4.2.2 Each organic ingredient in the product shall exhibit ready ultimate biodegradability under aerobic conditions as measured by one of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) methods found at 40 C.F.R. Part 796.3180. Ready ultimate biodegradability shall be determined as follows:
- Percentage removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) > 70% or
- Percentage degradation from oxygen consumption > 60% or
- Percentage biological oxygen demand (BOD) of > 60% or theoretical oxygen demand (TOD)
- Percentage CO2 evolution of theoretical CO2 evolution > 60%
For organic ingredients that do not exhibit ready ultimate biodegradability in any of these tests, the manufacturer may demonstrate biodegradability in sewage treatment plants using the Coupled Units Test found at 40 C.F.R. Part 796.3300 by demonstrating percentage DOC removal > 90%. For the purposes of this section, the ingredients that constitute the fragrance in a cleaner may be treated as a single ingredient. Testing is not required for any ingredient for which sufficient information exists concerning its biodegradability, either in peer-reviewed literature or databases or based on tests conducted according to standard procedures.
4.2.3 Phosphates and phosphonates, including sodium salts and potassium salts, shall not be present in the product in quantities above 0.5% by weight of total phosphorus.
4.2.4 The product shall not contain volatile organic compounds in concentrations that exceed 10% of weight of the product, as measured by Method 24 or 24A, 40 C.F.R. Part 60, Appendix A; Method 18 (gas chromatography), 40 C.F.R. Part 60, Appendix A; or Method 8240, "GC/MS Method for Volatile Organics;" or as demonstrated by the manufacturer based on formulation data.
4.2.5 The concentrations of the following in the undiluted product shall not exceed the levels specified below:
- Arsenic 0.5 mg/l
- Lead 0.5 mg/l
- Cadmium 0.1 mg/l
- Chromium 0.5 mg/l
- Mercury 0.02 mg/l
- Selenium 0.5 mg/l
- Nickel 0.5 mg/l
Testing for these elements shall comply with test methods described in 40 C.F.R. Part 136.
4.3 Other Requirements
The products shall not contain disposable towelettes or other disposable wiping materials.
- Packaging Requirements
5.1 As soon as practicable, considering existing inventories and obligations, the manufacturer shall use packaging that is state-of-the-art with respect to content of recovered and post-consumer material, source reduction, and recyclability. Requirements for recycled content may be waived for packages designed to be refilled by the consumer from bulk refilling systems.
5.2 Manufacturers of products packaged in aerosol cans must show that the aerosol cans can be collected after consumer use and recycled, and that recycling programs are in place everywhere the product is sold. Products shall not be packaged in primary or secondary packaging containing polyvinyl chloride.
5.3 Secondary packaging shall not be employed at the point of sale unless the product is a concentrate.
5.4 The sum of the concentration levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, and hexavalent chromium present in any package or packaging components shall not exceed 100 parts per million by weight.
- Labeling Requirements
6.1 The Green Seal Certification Mark must appear on the product's packaging.
6.2 The Green Seal Mark shall not be used in conjunction with any modifying terms, phrases, or graphic images that might mislead consumers as to the extent or nature of the certification.
6.3 Whenever the Certification Mark appears on a package or product, the product or package must contain a description of the basis for certification. The description shall be in a location, style, and typeface that are easily readable by the consumer. Unless otherwise approved in writing by Green Seal, the description shall read as follows:
"This product meets Green Seal's environmental standards governing ingredients, biodegradability, packaging, and other characteristics."
6.4 The label must include detailed instructions for proper use to maximize product performance and minimize waste.
6.5 Where a product is intended to be diluted with water by the consumer prior to use, the label shall clearly and prominently state that dilution is recommended and shall state the recommended level of dilution in commonly understood measurements. It shall also state that unheated water should be used for the dilution.
6.6 If plastic, the packaging must be clearly marked with the appropriate Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) symbol to identify the type of plastic for recycling.