Whether you’re reading this on the first day of fall or right before the first nor’easter, it’s never too late to get household hazardous waste out of your home. Today, we’re going to focus on two common types of household items that should be part of your house cleanout before winter: bulky products and hazardous chemicals. Learn how to identify them, the risks they pose, and what you can do to dispose of them. [Read more…]
Handling, Storing & Disposing of Pesticides and Insecticides
Keeping your landscape nice and healthy is hard work, and some of that work includes the use of heavy-duty chemicals to keep your lawn and garden pest-free. Pesticides and insecticides pose unique risks because they are designed to kill. And while these chemicals are targeted to insects and other pests, these same toxic compositions can pose a major health risk to your family—especially small children and pets—as well as the environment. Learn more about storing and disposing of pesticides and insecticides to reduce the risk to your home. [Read more…]
Why Corrosive Cleaners are Hazardous Household Products
Sometimes, all-purpose surface cleaners and Windex don’t cut it; you have to call in the big guns of cleaning. Many of these “heavy duty” cleaners come with a host of warnings, including required equipment for use, as well as warnings about skin exposure, eye exposure, properly ventilated areas—the list goes on. A large group of these hazardous household products are categorized as “corrosive cleaners,” or products with the primary job of dissolving things—and that comes with even more warnings, especially pertaining to storage and disposal. [Read more…]
The Environmental Impact of Improper Hazardous Waste Disposal
Hazardous waste is difficult to dispose of by design. These products, often dangerous to people and the environment, are regulated to keep us safe. Part of that regulation means most of these products, from big business hazardous waste to hazardous household products, cannot be thrown in the trash or down the drain, instead having to go to special facilities for disposal. Today we’re going to look at why and understand some of the environmental effects of improper hazardous waste disposal. [Read more…]
Photography Chemicals: Developing Better Disposal Options
While the average consumer has moved onto digital photography, hobbyists of all ages still enjoy taking pictures with film cameras and developing photography at home. But like with many hobbies, you can build up a large stock of hobby products that can be hard to dispose of once they are used, expired, or if you’re putting your hobby down. Photography chemicals, in particular, contain certain types of hazardous materials that need to be handled with care. Let’s go over the specifics below. [Read more…]