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Many products used in the home, garden, garage and hobby shop contain hazardous ingredients that need to be used and stored safely. Once you decide to discard these products, they become household hazardous wastes requiring specific disposal.
Some products can be harmful to the workers who collect and transport the waste. Other goods do not break down when they enter the natural environment.
Household hazard wastes can be described as discarded solid or liquid materials or containers holding gases which may cause an adverse, harmful or damaging biological effect in an organism or the environment unless given special handling and treatment.
Hazardous wastes usually account for a small portion of the waste stream, but can contaminate our water and soil if disposed of improperly. That's why hazardous waste should not be disposed of with regular garbage or poured into the sewers.
A substance is considered hazardous if it can catch fire, if it can react or explode when mixed with other substances, if it is corrosive, or if it is toxic.
This definition includes many things that you probably are storing right now in your garage, basement, bathroom, or kitchen. Some, like paint thinner or car batteries, are pretty obvious, but there are many that you might not ordinarily think of such as polishes, insecticides and glues.
Household hazardous wastes generally fall into six classes:
- Cleaning Products: aerosols, bathroom cleaners, drain cleaners, chlorine bleach, solvents, spot removers, toilet cleaners, oven cleaners.
- Automotive Supplies: car waxes, starting fluids, repair products, batteries, brake fluid, motor oil.
Hobby Products: glues, paints, stains, finishes, contact cement.
- Personal Products/Pharmaceuticals: nail polish and remover, prescription and non-prescription drugs.
- Pesticides: weed and pest killers, lawn chemicals.
- Home Environment Supplies: caulks, stains, paints, varnish, thinner, chemical strippers, fire extinguishers, flea collars and sprays, herbicides, insect repellents, insecticides, kerosene, lighter fluid, lye, mothballs, old propane tanks, pool chemicals.
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Corrosive substances, like battery acid and drain cleaners, eat away at many materials. | ||
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Toxic materials are poisonous to you, your children, your pets, and wildlife. Examples include rat poison, bleach, pesticides, cleaning fluids, antifreeze, and some medications. | ||
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Reactive bleach and pool chemicals can explode or produce deadly vapours. | ||
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Flammable: Usually liquids that easily ignite and burn (e.g. lighter fluid, spot and paint removers). | ||
© 2006 Northern Environmental Action Team. All rights reserved. Site by Kreatikon Media.