U.S. Cleaners given Minneapolis Green Business Award

U.S. Cleaners has been presented a 2015 Minneapolis Green Business Award for Pollution Reduction by the City of Minneapolis. The City recognizes businesses for their investments in the health of their workers, customers and neighbors by converting to cleaner technology, and making investments with help from the City’s Green Business Matching Grant Program.

The City of Minneapolis offers grants of up to $30,000 each to help dry cleaners reduce pollution by switching their processes from perchloroethylene to clean solvents.

Perchloroethylene is the main chemical solvent used in dry cleaning and is a neurotoxin that causes kidney damage and is listed by the Environmental Protection Agency as a likely carcinogen.

U.S. Cleaners switched its dry cleaning process when testing by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency found levels of perchloroethylene in the air at 87,000 micrograms per cubic meter of air – dramatically more than health risk levels of 60 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Testing also found the chemical in a neighboring daycare. The owner of the dry cleaning business worked with the Minneapolis Green Business Matching Grant Program to quickly replace the equipment and become a perchloroethylene-free facility.

The City of Minneapolis also offers grants to help vehicle repair, service and maintenance businesses, and also has a grant matching program that helps businesses voluntarily reduce the pollution that leads to ground level ozone.

More information and grant applications are available at www.minneapolismn.gov/greenbusiness.