UCSB custodians recently received the prestigious Grand Award for their environmentally friendly cleaning practices.

In a contest sponsored by American School & University magazine, the Green Cleaning Network and the Healthy Schools Campaign, UCSB triumphed over all the universities entered in the green-cleaning category. The university will be featured in AS&U’s December edition, and recipients will be honored at the annual Green Clean Schools National Summit in Washington, D.C. in November.

In a press release, Byron Sandoval, superintendent of custodial services, said his staff of over 100 workers is pleased with the acknowledgment of its green cleaning policies.

“Being a custodian myself for many years, I know how great it feels every time we’re recognized for a job well done,” Sandoval said. “When people ask me what I do for living, I always tell them, very proudly, that I work for the custodial department at UCSB. With this recognition for our staff, it makes me even more proud to say that.”

Since 2004, UCSB Custodial Services has instituted a Low Environmental Impact Cleaning Policy, which aims to improve indoor air quality, increase worker productivity and train staff to consider ecological concerns. Additionally, campus custodians use only Green Seal certified cleaning products in their work.

Campus Sustainability coordinator Jill Richardson — who nominated the team — said the workers’ success was richly deserved.

“I felt they should be recognized for all the hard work they do to maintain a clean and healthy indoor environment for all of us to work and study in,” Richardson said in the press release.