Some green practices make sense for shelters, but there are a few areas where the health of the animals requires less eco-friendly measures.

While the move toward more environmental operations is undoubtedly a virtuous one, it's wise for shelter folks to stop and do a spot-check on a few operational areas where their work shouldn't go green.

Much like hospitals, where disease control is also of primary importance, shelters need durable finishes on their floors so that they'll hold up to vigorous cleaning.  Unfortunately, that often means using epoxy resin coatings, finishes which are "high VOC." "VOC" stands for "volatile organic compounds," elements which are found in some building materials, contribute to air pollution, and have been linked to cancer.  Many high-VOC materials are even being outlawed by most states.

To avoid use of these coatings, some shelters may try to use sealants, which are applied as liquid and harden to seal off the floor from corrosion. But while sealants are a greener alternative to epoxy resin, they must be reapplied every six months, and that be- comes costly. "

One greener option is to fit shelters with rubber flooring, which is renewable and low VOC, but also durable and nonporous: It holds up to daily wear and tear and prevents bacteria and odours from sinking in and festering, as they do on cement or the grout in tiled floors.

Rubber flooring, however, is not ideal for kennel space, adding that epoxy resins remain the most practical option.

Effective cleaners and disinfectants are other areas where shelter operations conflict with good environmental practices; disease control in shelters requires the use of some fairly nasty substances.

Veterinarian Kate Hurley doesn't believe there's a place for "green" cleaners in shelters - at least not yet. "I've heard from shelters that got themselves into a dilemma where they had a green system that was incompatible, for instance, with use of a parvocidal disinfectant," she says. "We absolutely need to build into shelters the possibility that a durable virus or fungus, like ringworm, will enter; and we need to be able to use bleach or potassium peroxymonosulfate or some other proven disinfectant to make the environment safe again."

Besides doubting their effectiveness against pathogens, Hurley questions the safety of exposing animals to green cleaners like tea tree oil. "Bleach and trifectant, in terms of chronic health consequences, are both extraordinarily safe, actually," she says. "They haven't been linked to things like cancer or those kinds of problems."

Rather than eliminating widely used, powerful cleaning agents, Hurley suggests building shelters that can better tolerate their use and are designed to minimize the need for daily disinfection. "Though I am an advocate of green shelters," she says, "they can't be designed in such a way that there are any compromises in being able to maintain a sanitary and safe environment."

Source: Animalsheltering.org