Going Green as You Clean: Are “Green” Detergents

Less Toxic Than Conventional Detergents?

Kathryn Stavish Grade 9

Problem

•Are “green” detergents safer for the environment than conventional detergents?

Research• “Green”- Non-toxic, biodegradable, no petroleum based

ingredients, optical brighteners, dyes or fragrances.

• “Environmentally Friendly”- ambiguous term that does not have a set of guidelines

• Why choose “green?”

• Many conventional detergents have chemicals that are unhealthy for humans

• Carcinogens

• Triazoles

• Chemical relative of hydroxybenzotriazole (abbreviated HOBt)

• In most potent form, a class1.3C explosive

More Research

•When it goes down the drain, it goes into the water• “Water” meaning...

• Rivers, lakes, oceans - places people swim and animals live

• Precipitation

• Drinking water

• Humans and animals

Hypothesis

•If “green” detergent is used, then more worms will survive. This would indicate that “green” products are safer for the environment.

Materials• 84 Styrofoam cups, able to hold approximately 350 mL

• Green Way Liquid Dish Detergent (“green”)

• Meyer’s Liquid Dish Detergent (“green”)

• Dawn Dishwashing Liquid (conventional)

• Palmolive Dishwashing Liquid (conventional)

• Plastic container (clean and reuse for each detergent)

• 1 bag of potting soil

• Aluminum foil

• Graduated cylinder

• Meal worms (2 per cup; 56 per trial--for 2 trials 112 worms)

• Scale (metric)

Procedure• A dilution series of each detergent was created

• 0%, 3%, 6%, 12.5%, 25%, 50%, 100%

• 100 grams of soil were measured into labeled cups, 1 for each dilution (7 for each detergent)

• 5 mL of each dilution of each detergent were measured into each cup of soil

• 2 mealworms in each cup

• After 5 days passed, contents of each cup poured out and worms dead/alive counted

• Data collected

• Repeated in a second trial (two trials total)

Variables•Independent variable=3%, 6%,

12.5%, 25%, 50%, 100% dilutions

•Dependent variable=Number of worms dead/alive for each trial

•Control=0% dilution of each series (pure water)

•Constants=Amount of time for each trial, room temperature, ratio of solution to soil

Data

Conclusion• If “green” detergent is used, then more worms will survive.

This would indicate that “green” products are safer for the environment.

• Hypothesis supported

• In the two “green” brands of detergent, more worms survived; in the conventional brands, fewer worms survived.

• Further research conducted could include:

• Test effectiveness in washing dishes as well

• Test on other green cleaning products besides detergent

• Improvements to be made include:

• More trials

• More brands of detergent/varying types of worms

Thanks• Whyte, PhD, David B. "Going Green as You Clean: Are 'Green'

Detergents Less Toxic Than Conventional Detergents?" Science Buddies. Science Buddies, 18 Nov. 2012. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. <http://www.sciencebuddies.org/ science-fair-projects/project_ideas/EnvSci_p053.shtmlfave=no&isb=cmlkOjExNTA0MDk1LHNpZDowLHA6MixpYTpFbnZTY2k&from=TS W>.

• Navarro, Mireya. "Cleaner for the Environment, Not for the Dishes." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Sept. 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2011.  <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/science/earth/19clean.html?_r=1>.

• Barton, Charles. "Potentially Carcinogenic Dishwashing Detergent Leaching Directly Into the Water Supply." The Nuclear Green Revolution. Nuclear Green, 6 Apr. 2011. Web. 29 Sept. 2011. <http://nucleargreen.blogspot.com/2011/04/potentially-carcinogenic-dishwashing.html>.

• Adams, Mike. "Highly toxic chemicals are found in laundry detergents, dryer sheets, deoderants, perfumes, soaps and other household products." Natural News. Natural News Network, 17 May 2004. Web. 24 Sept. 2011. <http://www.naturalnews.com/001061.html>