Mourning Phosphates

It's been wonderful finding that none of the nine selected Danish detergents contain phosphates. Rather, there has been a combination of substitutes such as phosphonates and enzymes that effectively soften water and chelate metals. During my research, however, I've found that the state-mediated regulations in the U.S. on phosphates in detergents is rather recent (varying by state, but within the past few years); and worse it has met resistance.

Just for a touch of background, phosphates degrade into phosphorous in the environment, which -- due to large-scale use in household detergents -- finds environmental pathways to bodies of water. Since phosphorous is a limiting nutrient to plant growth, the newfound abundance has spurred widespread algal and plankton blooms. This leads to a phenomenon called "eutrophication," and can severely damage aquatic ecosystems. The problem became just big enough, just loud enough, and just enough in people's own backyards that there has finally been some action.

However, one must be thoroughly outraged at the glaringly stubborn spots upon once sparkling wine glasses, fresh out of the dishwasher! There was a NPR article last winter (Elizabeth Shogren "Dishes still dirty? Blame phosphate-free detergent." 15 Dec 2010. National Public Radio. Accessed 21 May 2011: http://www.npr.org/2010/12/15/132072122/it-s-not-your-fault-your-dishes-are-still-dirty), in which it's clear that the reason for the removal of phosphates is sometimes neither believed nor accepted. Sue Wright from Austin, Texas, does not believe that phosphates are growing algae. But why? Based on what? Surely one can't believe that the government would make these regulations AND detergent corporations would comply if there were not solid foundation.

This goes to show that despite the ease of access to information (whether scientific or social) and the gradual adjustment with alternatives is not enough to comfort the impact on people's standards of living. According to the article, Sandra Young just adds her own phosphate to her dish detergent now, completely circumventing the purpose of removal in the first place. But I wonder, will she really keep buying the extra phosphate? Will she teach this to her children and will they do the same? Perhaps the change over time will be more easily accepted. Maybe we can all put in a little more effort and hand wash. Or maybe we can live with the spots.

Either way, it's clearly painful mourning phosphates in the U.S.