GreenEarth Affiliate Making Noise in Bloomsburg, PA
The New Owners Of Bloomsburg Dry Cleaner Make Going Greener A Priority
(story by BloomUToday.com)
The new owners of a Bloomsburg dry cleaner have chosen to change the previous direction of Lapels Dry Cleaning and are making it more environmentally friendly by using a material like sand to clean clothes, rather than chemicals.
A pair of Berwick lawyers, Travis Petty and Nick Lutz, along with friends Angelo and Denise Venditti, purchased Lapels Dry Cleaning back in June. Petty said it was a fairly easy call to switch from chemicals to liquid silicone saying “we view it as not only as an investment in the community, but also in the Earth. If we don’t look at these sustainability issues now, we’re going to have a lot of problems.”
In September, officials with Green Earth Cleaning were at the store on Route 11 by, Dunkin Donuts, changing over the cleaning system to the greener option.
Green Earth Cleaning’s technical sales representative said the new liquid silicone cleaner lifts stains, oil and dirt from clothing, without using chemicals. One traditional dry-cleaning chemical, tetrachloroethylene, is considered a carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency.
With the new system, what’s left after the dry cleaning process is a putty-like clay or dirt that can be safely deposited back into the soil.
David Grippi, vice president of operations for Lapels, said his newer locations all use the Green Earth process, and other locations are being encouraged to switch over. “I know one of our locations that used it as pond soil, and another planted a tree in it,” he said of the clay leftovers.
Petty said Lapels now has a staff of seven that’s overseen by manager Megan Kiliti.
Lapels Dry Cleaning is hoping to add staff as the business grows and possibly expand into other markets, according to Petty.