PROPER HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE DOSPOSAL
There area many products in most homes that would be described as Hazardous Waste Material. You do not have to look as fas as your garage for these substances, but more than likely just under your kitchen or bathroom sink or basement. Speaking of garages though, it would be a good place to start as long forgotten cans or bottles of cleaning substances and other things may actually be lurking out there in containers that were not made for long term storage. I remember a truckload of material that came to my jobsite last summer that reaked from afar, containing substances so old they no longer had labels and were also rusty and leaking. It's best to do an annual or semi annual check of unused products around your home and garage and check for substances you no longer use, such as that old can of paint stripper you didn't use up and it's doubtful you ever will, or those flourescent light bulbs and fixtures you've got sitting in a corner somewhere that you don't know what to do with. Those things are Hazardous Materials and need to be taken to the appropriate collection facility in your area.
Products that are current more than likely have labels on them identifying them as Hazardous Waste such as TOXIC, CORROSIVE, or FLAMMABLE.
Hazardous Waste containg products you may have on hand are listed below:
Drain Cleaner
Paint Cleaners
Chlorine Bleach
Pesticides
Flourescent Lightbulbs/and fixtures
Broken thermometers
Cleaning Agents
Stains and polishes
oil based paints (water based paints must still be turned into a HHW collection facility unless the cans are empty and dry, then they may be tossed into regular trash)
Fingernail polish remover/nail polish/cosmetics
Lighter Fluid
used oil/gasoline
wood and metal cleaners
Antifreeze
Adhesives
Grease and Rust Solvents
Some of these substances may be recycled at your local HHW collection facility. For example, unused paint maybe be taken iin and put on a shefl for consumer pick up. Yes, a good place to get free paint for those smaller projects is at your local HHW facility shelf!
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A bag of clay containing kitty litte rand an empty 5 gallon bucket kept in your garage is a good idea to have on hand should some of these substances be sppilled or begin leaking. Simply pour the kitty litter over a spill and shovel into the bucket and bring to your local HHW collection facility.
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Wise shopping can help keep these Hazardous Substances from your home
One time-honored and simple strategy for keeping hazardous materials out of the house is by using home-made substitutes with less dangerous, and often much cheaper, ingredients. When combined in the right fashion and used properly, common items can do the same jobs as their dangerous cousins with the warning labels, only somewhat differently. For example, borax, baking soda and lemon juice combine to form an excellent toilet bowl cleaner and disinfectant but may require more setting time and a little more scrubbing than chlorine bleach or other hazardous substances.
Click on the link below to take you to a guide to help you shop wisely for non-hazardous cleaning products:
http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/src/recipes.htm
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VIRTUAL HOUSE IMAGEMAP
Check the link below for a room by room list of Hazardous products common for that room. It's very interesting and informative:
http://www.epa.gov/seahome/housewaste/house/house.htm