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Phosphates Phosphates are natural minerals that are important to a variety of biological processes. A key nutrient for plants and animals, these minerals were once widely used in detergents because they did two very useful things: They reduced water hardness which allowed the detergent’s soap to clean more effectively, and they prevented dirt from being redeposited back onto the items being cleaned. But while phosphates may be a perfect ingredient for laundry and other detergents, once they’re released into the environment via household wastewater, the results are anything but desirable.The trouble starts with an algae bloom. Simply put, algae love phosphates. For these tiny plants, a washer load of phosphate-laden detergent is an invitation to a giant all-you-can-eat feast. In response to all this sudden food, the algae feed and reproduce prodigiously, and then die off in equally large numbers as the ecosystem becomes unable to support their burgeoning population. Once dead, they drift to the bottom of the pond or lake where they become food for other microorganisms. Now it’s the other microorganisms’ turn to enjoy an overabundance of food. As they feed and reproduce in growing numbers in response to the increased availability of dead algae, the microorganisms strip more and more oxygen out of the water. Eventually, if the population explosion is great enough, the waters in question become so devoid of this crucial element that they can’t support any life at all. The result is a “dead” body of water. Soon thereafter, something called eutrophication often occurs, a process by which a body of water loses all its life, fills in with solids, and becomes dry land. In response to this once common problem, most products containing phosphates were eliminated years ago. An exception, however, was made for automatic dishwasher detergents (ADDs). These products gained an exemption from phosphate bans because of the unique way dishwashers work. Unlike washing machines with their single wash cycle, a dishwasher can have up to five separate wash cycles, yet we only load detergent once. To clean effectively, that detergent has to repeatedly soften new batches of water throughout these many cycles. Armed with this information, ADD manufacturers have successfully resisted attempts to phase out the phosphates in their products. They continue to claim that this ingredient is essential and that no reasonable alternatives exist. While that may have been true in the early 1970s when the problem with phosphates was first addressed, advances since then have allowed responsible manufacturers to create high performance ADDs that work without using phosphates in their formulas. To keep your local waterways in healthy balance, look for these alternatives when you shop and keep phosphates out of the environment. Seventh Generation makes an automatic dish detergent that is free of phosphates and chlorine.
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