Think your home is pretty green? Maybe it is. But take a look at the darker corners of your basement, garage, and backyard shed. You'll likely find a miniature toxic waste dump, getting larger by the year.
Americans generate more than 1.5 million tons of hazardous household waste every year. Anything that has a label with the word poison, danger, warning, or caution is considered hazardous household waste and all of them pose potential risks to your health and the environment. If your home is like most, you could easily have 100 pounds of toxic junk lurking in the basement, garage, and closets.
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When it's time for the next cleaning (spring or otherwise), do it in a way that makes your home and the environment safer, says Kathy Shay, water quality education manager for Austin, Texas and its Grow Green program. "Your home has its own environmental protection agency, and it's you," says Shay. "There are dozens of ways you can go a little greener at home that are simple, but also powerful."
Go Green: Plan, Don't Just Pitch It
In a garage overpopulated by cans of crusty paint, sludged oil, half-full pesticide sprayers, and cemented caulk tubes, the solution can seem easy. Put them down the storm drain or into the trash bin -- anything to be rid of the stuff.
Experts warn against ever pouring suspect chemicals down the drain, into storm sewers, or backyard dirt. "A single can of oil can travel through acres of soil," says Paul McRandle, deputy editor for National Geographic's Green Guide. "And water treatment plants aren't set up to process petrochemicals. They end up in the water, in the fish -- and eventually back on your plate."
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