Hazardous Wastes at Home

You may think you're pretty green - and perhaps you are. But have you considered the hazardous wastes in your home? I recently read that according to the Environmental Protection Agency, homes often have as much as 100 pounds of hazardous waste sitting in cupboards, closets, and the garage. Yikes!

Here is a list of home-hazards you may not realize you have, and suggested places to dispose of them:

Unused or unwanted medications - dispose at a medical center, regional sheriff's substation, and perhaps even your city hall! Check with your waste company; they should be able to tell you where to dispose of medications. Do NOT throw them in the trash or down the drain. Think of the fish on the other end that are eating a toxic mix of unwanted pills.

These items you can typically take to your local waste facility. Call first; if they do not accept some of these items, they should be able to tell you who will:

1. Personal care products - fingernail polish remover, hair color, shampoo, lotions, conditioner; if you are still unconvinced, check out www.cosmeticdatabase.com
2. Cleaning products - bleach, polishes, and any other household cleaning product
3. Antibacterial soaps - yes, they are harmful to the environment as they contain Triclosan, which is a toxic chemical that is harmful to aquatic life
4. Mercury-based thermometers and fluorescent light bulbs
5. Pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers - lawn and garden care products often have ingredients in them that are poisonous, even when the label says "safe" or "safer." The truth is they contain pyrethrins, pyrethroids, or permethrin - not safe for any life form, except for cockroaches that seem to be impervious to everything!
6. Paints, paint products, and wood preservatives - even no-VOC paints and wood waxes that are better for the environment should be disposed of at a waste facility; traditional products contain dioxen, solvents, and pigments that are known carcinogens (read: cancer-causing agents)
7. Batteries - not only does your waste facility take these off your hands, so do many other stores these days, like IKEA, Home Depot, Lowes, and even some grocery stores!
8. Automotive products - gas, oil, antifreeze - they all need to go to the waste facility and NOT DOWN THE DRAIN - not even a little bit. I know of a family that has a truck that leaks oil like a sieve and their solution is to pour kitty litter over it to absorb the oil, and then hose that down the drain. That is NOT an environmentally sound solution!

So before you consider dumping your household toxic waste into the garbage can, down the drain, or in the toilet, consider this first:

• Your children's health
• Your home environment and surrounding areas
• The aquatic life on the receiving end of all the toxic waste
• The idea that we have one earth - let's not spoil it for others!

As an aside - I did recently hear that there is a major push in our space program to eventually start a colony on Mars - I'm not kidding! And sooner than you think! Sounds too much like WALL - E to me! Okay, so living on another planet may be cool, (I think there a lot of people already doing that, if you know what I mean!) but lets keep the home base clean. You'll never know when you get home sick and want to come back...down to Earth.