The Spokane river had a soap-scum problem. Runoff from the region's dishwashers was loaded with phosphorus, which helped get glasses and plates sparkling clean but was also fueling the growth of algae, which, in turn, were making Washington State's waterways an icky green. Besides repelling swimmers, the algae were sucking up so much oxygen they were suffocating other aquatic life. Experts estimated that as much as a third of the phosphorus at wastewater-treatment facilities was from dishwasher detergent

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