What Detergent Has a High Phosphate Level? | Hunker
Laundry Detergents. Prior to the ban, laundry detergents frequently contained between 30 and 50 percent phosphate builders. Intense debate among environmentalists, detergent manufacturers, and government officials began in the 1960s, and Congress enacted a ban that effectively removed phosphates from laundry detergents in 1993. Advertisement.