Tips for Reducing toxic chemicals in your home is important. Visit the following links for recipes, tips and fact sheets for creating and using safe alternatives.

Note: Once a pesticide bottle is empty, it should be triple rinsed before being thrown out or recycled. Save the rinse water and use as full-strength pesticide.

Tips for Household Hazardous Waste Product Use:
Notes from Jan Kleman, Florida Department of Environmental Protection's HHW Program Coordinator

  • Buy only what you need and use what you buy or give it to someone who can use it (paint calculator).

  • Follow the manufacturer's directions - more is not always better.

  • Properly store hazardous products in order to increase their shelf life (place paper bags of ant poison or moth balls on the garage shelf in air tight plastic bags).

  • Switch to less hazardous alternative products or use homemade substitutes.

  • Not sure if your old bottle of Chlordane can still be used (or to find out if it is a registered pesticide in North Dakota)? Call the ND Department of Agriculture at (701) 328-1505 or visit their web site at www.agdepartment.com.

  • Consider common sense and natural pest control solutions without chemicals.

  • Store chemicals properly in order to keep children and pets safe.

  • Be aware that when household chemicals are commingled, they can produce poisonous fumes (bleach and toilet bowl cleaner, when mixed will produce deadly chlorine gas), generate enough heat to cause burns (a cola beverage spilled on pool chlorine), or spontaneously ignite (motor oil coming in contact with pool chlorine).

  • Don't reuse an empty household cleaning product container.

  • Clearly label cleaning mixtures and don't store such mixtures in old food containers.

  • Do not pour HHW on the ground or down the storm sewer (it flows directly to the River!) and ask (the City's Water Treatment Plant) before you pour HHW down your drain.

  • Don't burn your HHW, as carcinogens can be released and heavy metals can be vaporized and carried in the air before settling out.

Note: hundreds of locations for used motor oil collection centers exist in North Dakota, free to households. Contact your local gas station, oil change shop or solid waste/public works office. Do not place in the garbage.

Many household products are dangerous - read the labels. For example, in order of increased toxicity, pesticides are labeled poison, caution, warning, or danger. There are numerous household hazardous wastes that contain highly toxic heavy metals (arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, selenium or silver), dioxins and other carcinogens. Mismanagement can result in entry into the food chain, birth defects, cancer and fish and wildlife kills.

See our listing of Safe Alternative Web sites.  For more information on how to reduce toxic chemicals in your home, visit the following web site by the MN Office of Environmental Assistance: www.reduce.org.

Learn About Chemicals Around Your House

The Environmental Protection Agency's web site features "Learn about chemicals around your house", an interactive tour through a household showing what chemicals are found in the bath, kitchen, garage, etc. Although designed for youth, this tour helps anyone identify harmful pesticides and toxic chemicals. It also contains a lot of support information. The National Library of Medicine's web site also features a similar program called "ToxTown".

 

  
   

[ Copyright ©2002-2004 Minnkota Recycling  | All Rights Reserved. ]