6th Step towards Sustainability: Phosphate-Free Dishwasher Detergent

To follow up on step five, step six applies the same concept to your dishwasher routine. Phosphates in our cleaning products wreck havoc on the water-based ecosystems, especially amphibians. Those cute little frog legs suck up the chemicals in the water and create all sorts of trouble for their little froggie bodies.

Phosphate free dishwashing detergents are becoming more popular and common. The above pictured product is what I use. Palmolive's phosphate free is available at Wal-mart and other national stores and costs the same as regular dishwasher detergents. That being said, this is just what I use, there are many other options available. Seventh Generation also makes a dishwasher detergent. I'm sure there are plenty others out there as well. Look around the next time you need dishwasher detergent, most phosphate-free brands advertise it pretty loudly.

How It Helps: Phosphates in the water are linked to major issues with our amphibian populations. Not only do they create issues with amphibian reproduction but can create all sorts of deformities in other amphibians. Phosphates also effect the plant life in the water ways which then changes the entire ecosystem and not for the best. Changing just one cleaning product to phosphate-free can help reduce the amount of phosphate put into our water ways dramatically and can help make the world a little more froggy-friendly.

How To Do It: This is another really simple one. Just buy the phosphate-free. Whenever your dishwasher detergent runs out, just take a little more time to choose your dishwasher detergent.

Cost: Some phosphate-free versions cost the same as their chemically loaded counterparts. Others can be a bit more costly. If you can afford dishwasher detergent, you can afford to go phosphate-free.

Once again, another really simply change to make that can make a huge difference!