Is Borax safe for the environment?

* No. It is a strong alkaline and will kill many organisms. That is why it is added to laundry detergent to kill off bacteria. * I'm not a fan of borax and own a business that uses objective criteria to judge if a cleaning chemical is truly green (borax would not meet the criteria), but as a chemist I can hardly call borax, with a pH in water of 9.5, a strong alkaline. It does dissociate well, but we're not talking sodium hydroxide, which is a strong alkaline with a pH of nearly 13. Borax is also a decent surfactant which is why I understand it's used in laundry detergents. It dissolves readily. Borax can be used as a pesticide. * Yes it is safe for the environment. Borax is a naturally occurring mineral and consists of water, sodium, boron and oxygen. See link below. * Note-Borax is often recommended as a "safe" pesticide, fungicide, Arts and Crafts material and cleaner, but it is officially classified as a poison by the FDA.