The UW Custodial Services is kicking the bucket and replacing it with a new program called Green Cleaning, intended to reduce the UW's impact on the environment.

The UW Custodial Services and environmental groups such as Students Expressing Environmental Dedication (SEED) are working to make the University community a more environmentally friendly place not only in the dorms, but also on campus as a whole.

One of the biggest changes brought on by the Custodial Service's Green Cleaning program is the elimination of many previously used products and the increase in green products.

Water usage and cross-contamination have both been reduced by replacing cotton mops with micro-fiber wet mops, which are more efficient and use no oil.

Mops are not the only items being altered; the soap dispensers have received a makeover as well. More than 1,600 liquid dispensers in campus bathrooms have made the switch to fragrance-free, biodegradable foam soap, which is certified by Green Seal, a non-profit environmental activism organization.

Making the move to green products can sometimes mean increased costs.

Gene Woodard, director of Custodial Services, assures there is little difference.

"Going green narrows down the products used, which causes the cost to reduce," Woodard said.

In fact, green products are price-comparable to non-green products.

Along with the efforts of the UW Custodial Services, SEED members are also working hard to make the UW a more eco-conscious place.

"We need to put compost bins on the floors of the residence halls," said Ariana Taylor-Stanley, co-director and member of SEED.

Last spring, compost bins were placed on four floors in Lander and Eleven 01 with the help of UW's Housing and Food Services (HFS).

SEED's main goal with the compost installation is to keep waste out of the landfills.

Compost bin expansion isn't the only project the members of SEED have been concerned with at the UW.

As of last year, SEED has implemented a new program with HFS that presents students with the option of exchanging their incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) bulbs. And you don't have to be a resident to make the exchange.

Not only is there improvement in light quality, the bulbs also reduce energy consumption by 75 percent.

"UW is like a small city," said Tim Yang, co-director and member of SEED.

With the help of HFS, the group hopes to completely swap out all incandescent bulbs with CFL bulbs.

"We want to do anything and everything," said Chris Bruno, director of SEED.

Advocates of the Green Cleaning policy have high hopes for the outcome of the new policy.

"We want to provide a clean environment without doing harm," Woodard said.

[Reach reporter Megan Meinecke at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]