Banning Dishwasher Phosphates to
Protect Rivers, Lakes
In 2006 the Washington Legislature passed the nation’s first ban on phosphates in dishwashing detergent. The legislation was hotly contested and opposed by the detergent industry.
The law has two phases: the first phase starts on July 1, 2008, when the phosphate ban started in two counties (Spokane and Whatcom) with severe water quality problems. The second phase is in 2010 when the phosphate ban extends statewide.
We can have both clean dishes and healthy fishes!
Gov. Gregoire signing the nation’s first restriction on phosphates in dishwashing detergent to protect the Spokane River and waters of Washington state. Rico Reed (third from right), UCR political chairperson, first suggested the legislation to Rep Timm Ormbsy (front row, far left - next to Sen. Lisa Brown)
Upper Columbia River Group
New
Interview with
Rico Reed
Rico Reed
In the spring of 2004 Rico Reed, who chaired the Political Committee of the Sierra Club’s Spokane-based Upper Columbia River Group, picked up a box of dishwasher detergent, read the label, and discovered phosphates were inside. Reed, working with Sierra Club lobbyist Craig Engelking in Olympia, and Rep. Timm Ormsby, took the first steps that led to Washington’s law banning phosphates from dishwasher detergents to protect waterways. Click for an interview with Rico Reed.