Americans generate 1.6 million tons of Household Hazardous Waste per Year. The average home has 100lbs of HHW.
Don’t throw away hazardous waste. If the landfill has a leak (read my informative post on landfills) these chemicals can combine and work to undermine the strength of clay and plastic liners designed to keep a landfill from contaminating the surrounding environment and water sources. Other inappropriate places to dump hazardous waste are: drains, pouring/burying in the ground and storm sewers.
The products that you purchase which contain hazardous chemicals create havoc when not disposed of properly, they pollute the environment and threaten human health.
Here is a list of common products that contain hazardous ingredients (all statistics and list from the EPA website). These products are found in everyone’s home, garage, storage space or basement. I had at least one thing from each category in my house.
Cleaning Products:
- Oven cleaners
- Drain cleaners
- Wood and Metal cleaners and polishes
- Toilet cleaners
- Tub, tile and shower cleaners
- Bleach (laundry)
- Pool chemicals
Automotive Products:
- Motor oil
- Fuel additives
- Carburetor and fuel injection cleaners
- Air conditioning refrigerants
- Starter fluids
- Automotive batteries
- Transmission and brake fluid
- Antifreeze
Lawn and Garden Products:
- Herbicides
- Insecticides
- Fungicides/wood preservatives
Indoor Pesticides:
- Ant sprays and baits
- Cockroach sprays and baits
- Flea repellents and shampoos
- Bug sprays
- Household insecticides
- Moth repellents
- Mouse and rat poisons and baits
Workshop/Painting Supplies:
- Adhesives and glues
- Furniture strippers
- Oil or enamel based paint
- Stains and finishes
- Paint thinners and turpentine
- Paint strippers and removers
- Photographic chemicals
- Fixatives and other solvents
Miscellaneous:
- Batteries
- Mercury thermostats or thermometers
- Fluorescent light bulbs
- Driveway sealer
Other Flammable Products:
- Propane tanks and other compressed gas cylinders
- Kerosene
- Home heating oil
- Diesel fuel
- Gas/oil mix
- Lighter fluid
It may take a little work on your part – but there are many options for the proper disposal of household hazardous waste.
1. Contact your local trash collector – they can give info on hazardous waste collection
2. Web search “Household Hazardous Waste Disposal” with your city name – you’ll get lots of info
3. Check with your community or county – often they have full-time collection centers as well as collection days. This link is info for Los Angeles County.
4. Often businesses will accept household hazardous waste – for example, local automotive companies may take your used motor oil. Call around for information.
Be smart and be courteous – out of sight is not out of mind when it comes to hazardous waste.
I never even considered my toilet cleaner to be hazardous. Good grief. I was just explaining to my daughter the other day about storm drains and the effect on the fish in the ocean (we live by the beach). Now I am going to have to make a hazardous waste box. If only more people were as cognisant of this issue. Thank you!!
There were many items on the list that I had not realised were considered hazardous waste. The other thing is how long the shelf life is. Even when they are disposed of properly, are they going to around in some fashion for the next 100 or so years?