4 ms·

Since I work for a producer of STPP (the phosphate ingredient in detergents, usually not TSP) I can agree on the whole with this article. Governments around the

by mahrain 15y ago

Since I work for a producer of STPP (the phosphate ingredient in detergents, usually not TSP) I can agree on the whole with this article. Governments around the world are banning phosphates from domestic detergents to prevent water eutrophication (algal blooms etc.). However, domestic applications account for no more than 2% of the problem, the remaining 98% come from human waste (crap) and agriculture (both phosphate fertilizer and animal waste). It is therefore rather "symbolic politics" with politicians trying to get a "greener image" on this issue, rather than actually fixing the environment. What's more, sewage treatment plants could also reclaim phosphate from wastewater and collect it to be recycled, this would close the cycle. But this probably won't happen, right now governments are looking at banning STPP from automatic dishwasher detergents as well, and industrial and institutional cleaners are next. So you can expect a lot dirtier dishes soon as well. For more information you can check out http://www.ceep-phosphates.org/ http://www.ceep-phosphates.org/ which is the European lobby for phosphate producers. They have some good background information on this.

duncanj 15y ago
While it may be correct (I don't know) to say that the current problem is 2% detergents, the numbers were different 40 years ago when phosphate started getting banned, one source saying 50-70% of the problem being detergents [1]. One could say, on a percentage basis, it was successful. [1] http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/full_text_search/AllCRCDocs/94-54.htm http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/full_text_search/AllCRCDocs...
travisp 15y ago
STPP is already being restricted in automatic dishwasher detergents as well now. Here is what Consumer Reports had to say: "The good news is that while the low-phosphate products we tested for our last dishwasher-detergent report tended to perform worst overall, several low-phosphate products from different brands were very good this time around." (1) [1] http://news.consumerreports.org/home/2010/07/phosphate-ban-dishwasher-detergents-phosphorous-level-review-of-best-dishwasher-detergents-cleaning-.html http://news.consumerreports.org/home/2010/07/phosphate-ban-d...
rflrob 15y ago
> It is therefore rather "symbolic politics" with politicians trying to get a "greener image" on this issue, rather than actually fixing the environment. I'd be surprised if this is actually the case. I haven't looked up the actual regulations/laws that control TSP, but I would guess that it's done through the EPA as executive regulations, rather than specific provisions in law. In that case, it seems unlikely to me that the political pressure on the President would significantly affect the EPA's findings on all but the most economically significant pollutants.

by mahrain 15y ago

duncanj 15y ago

While it may be correct (I don't know) to say that the current problem is 2% detergents, the numbers were different 40 years ago when phosphate started getting banned, one source saying 50-70% of the problem being detergents [1]. One could say, on a percentage basis, it was successful. [1] http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/full_text_search/AllCRCDocs/94-54.htm http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/full_text_search/AllCRCDocs...

travisp 15y ago

STPP is already being restricted in automatic dishwasher detergents as well now. Here is what Consumer Reports had to say: "The good news is that while the low-phosphate products we tested for our last dishwasher-detergent report tended to perform worst overall, several low-phosphate products from different brands were very good this time around." (1) [1] http://news.consumerreports.org/home/2010/07/phosphate-ban-dishwasher-detergents-phosphorous-level-review-of-best-dishwasher-detergents-cleaning-.html http://news.consumerreports.org/home/2010/07/phosphate-ban-d...

rflrob 15y ago

> It is therefore rather "symbolic politics" with politicians trying to get a "greener image" on this issue, rather than actually fixing the environment. I'd be surprised if this is actually the case. I haven't looked up the actual regulations/laws that control TSP, but I would guess that it's done through the EPA as executive regulations, rather than specific provisions in law. In that case, it seems unlikely to me that the political pressure on the President would significantly affect the EPA's findings on all but the most economically significant pollutants.