Green Tips for Your Daycare/Childcare Business

As a daycare owner, the health and safety of your clients’ children are your top priorities. Green business practices can help you in meeting these objectives, keeping your facility free of toxins and other hazards without impacting the quality of childcare services you provide. Here are some ideas from the Green Business Bureau for you to consider when going green at your childcare facility:

1. Choose lead-free and PVC-free toys: The Consumer Product Safety Commission database (http://www.saferproducts.gov) can be a great resource for researching the toys you already have, but consider choosing toys that are labeled lead-free and PVC-free for future purchases.

2. Purchase non-toxic art supplies: Look for products that have a recognized third-party certification (like approval by the Art & Creative Materials Institute).

3. Reseal wooden playground equipment: An earlier preservative used in treating lumber has been found to leach arsenic, making it important to reseal older wooden equipment regularly.

4. Recycle toxic materials in an area away from classrooms: Make sure materials like batteries and fluorescent lighting are recycled, but also keep this recycling area in a staff-only section of the facility.

5. Take advantage of opportunities to educate on environmentalism: Opportunities for environmental education are limitless, from creating a classroom composting bin, to providing educational games with an environmental focus.