Washington-Pockets of consumer resistance remain as the number of states banning phosphate in dishwasher detergents continues to grow because of concerns over water pollution, according to the Soap and Detergent Assn. Dennis Griesing, the association’s vice president for government affairs, told Green Markets the industry is now committed to no more than one half of one percent in dishwasher detergents by 2010 after getting phosphate out of all laundry detergents in 1993. Griesing said Washington in 2006 was the first of a dozen states to adopt the industry’s model, but phasing it in first in Spokane County isn’t going smoothly. Objections are being raised there that the no-phos products aren’t getting the dishes clean, and some residents are going across the state line to Idaho to buy the old brands. Area environmental groups, who say the problem is hard water, have launched a campaign to encourage residents to give no-phosphate a chance by trying different brands or installing water softeners. “What we told people is our companies spent in the 1990s over $200 million for a product that would be acceptable,” Griesing explained. “But some main street consumers still walked away from it (even though) it’s really good stuff for cleaning.” He said since 2006 Washington has been joined by Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. “A bill passed in California recently but Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed it,” reported Griesing, “but there is pending legislation this year in New Hampshire, Montana, Connecticut, and Oregon.” There also have been attempts to pass a bill in Congress, the latest of which was abandoned only last month in the Senate. Another was proposed and then dropped in 2008, but Griesling said the industry doesn’t think national legislation is necessary.
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