Phosphates, banned in Chicago, but still in the stores.

Quite a surprise to me. I thought they were banned everywhere. But I can't get a can of spray paint within the city limits.

Banned in Chicago. . . but available in stores
Phosphates were outlawed in '71, but Daley isn't enforcing dad's law with dish detergents

By Michael Hawthorne
Tribune staff reporter
April 4, 2007

More than three decades after Chicago banned phosphate-laden detergents to prevent foul-smelling algae from choking lakes and rivers, dishwasher soap made with the chemicals still dominates supermarket shelves.

The anti-phosphates ordinance Mayor Richard J. Daley signed in 1971 became the model for similar efforts that helped revive the Great Lakes. But though the city's current mayor, Daley's son, promotes Chicago as one of the nation's most environmentally friendly cities, his administration rarely enforces the ban. Few phosphate-free dishwasher detergents are available at Jewel and Dominick's, which account for about two-thirds of the city's chain grocery stores. Most major labels and store brands still have phosphate levels ranging from 3.3 percent to 8.7 percent. The levels in some specialty detergents are as high as 20 percent.