Fort Collins Residents Will Reduce Their Chemical Footprints

DENVER, CO, April 10, 2011 (Press-News.org) The Institute for Environmental Solutions (IES) will present a new workshop for Fort Collins residents on April 14 to help them reduce their chemical footprints. Sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Association, the "Non-toxic Cleaning and Living" Workshop will be on Thursday, April 14, 6 - 8 p.m., at the River Rock Common House in Fort Collins. Advance registration is required (sustainablelivingassociation.org).

The cleaning products aisle at the grocery store is stacked with tubs, bottles, sprays and wipes, a troop of cleaning agents to make you think that without them you will live in filth. Why aren't the ingredients listed on the label? What makes these products smell like ocean mist or fresh cotton? Are the chemicals inside safe for our home and family? IES will teach easy and inexpensive techniques to clean your home while avoiding chemicals that contaminate the environment and drinking water. Participants will take away recipes for cleaners and a shopping guide for what ingredients to avoid. IES will demonstrate how to make your own contaminant-free products and find out which commonly used chemicals in some products could be contaminating the water supply. Participants will make and take home two cleaning products.

Many chemicals developed over the last 50 years and now widely used on a daily basis in everyday household products get into the environment and have harmful effects on human and wildlife health. These effects are not fully understood. Due to this lack of research and information about potentially harmful substances, scientists around the world are researching these compounds, which are known as Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs). Few of these chemicals are regulated or monitored.

"The best way to protect both the environment and our health is to not use products that contain harmful contaminants," said Carol Lyons, IES Executive Director. "It's easy to make effective, non-toxic household cleaning products, and it saves money, too!"

Fort Collins and area residents are invited to attend the hands-on Workshop on April 14, and learn how to reduce their exposure to harmful contaminants, reduce water pollution, and protect the environment. Future workshops will cover contaminant-free grocery shopping and personal care products.

The Institute for Environmental Solutions is a Denver-based non-profit organization dedicated to addressing complex environmental challenges. IES uses sound, independent science to find potential solutions, develop objective evaluation methods, implement strategies, and measure and demonstrate costs and effectiveness. IES's approach emphasizes integration across technical disciplines and inclusion of all potential stakeholders throughout project design and implementation.

For more information about the Workshop or IES, please visit http://www.i4es.org.

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