Beyond the Bin

Hazardous Heed - Reducing your use of Hazardous Products

Most home closets, basements, and garages are stocked with household products like cleaners, paints, polishes, and pesticides that promise to be quick, easy, and effective-- but how safe are these products? You might assume that a product is safe if it's for sale. Unfortunately, many products may contain chemical ingredients that can be dangerous when you use them, or harmful to humans and the environment if they are disposed of improperly.

A hazardous product is any product whose use, disposal, or improper handling may be damaging to human health, or to the environment. By reducing the toxicity of the products we use, we reduce the risk of harming the environment that supports us.

Did you know...

• Every day US families produce an estimated 4 million pounds of household hazardous waste.
• 260 million gallons of motor oil are improperly disposed in streams, sewers or on the ground each year in the US - the equivalent of 16 Exxon Valdez oil spills.

Here's what you can do...

• Mix your own all-purpose cleaner: Mix one quart of warm water with 1 teaspoon liquid dish soap, 1 teaspoon borax and 1/4 cup of vinegar. You'll be pleased with how well it works on counters, floors, walls, rugs, etc. for a fraction of the cost of store-bought cleaners.
• Get rid of pests and weeds without harmful chemicals: Many pests can be picked off plants, sprayed off with a hose, or killed using simple things like beer, salt, or dish soap. Eliminate aphids using a spray bottle of dish soap and water and pour salt on slugs. These alternatives are usually much cheaper than purchasing harmful chemicals.
• Recycle your motor oil: If you change your own oil recycle it by taking it to a recycling depot that accepts motor oil or setting it at the curb if you have curbside recycling pick-up.
• Don't buy aerosols: These containers may explode if heated. Contents may be flammable, irritating, corrosive, toxic, or poisonous. Using non-aerosol containers like pump-sprays, roll-ons, or liquids reduces these risks.
• Choose water-based latex paints: Water-based latex paints contain fewer flammable and toxic solvents than oil-based paints. As with all products containing solvents buy only what you need and, work in a well-ventilated room.
• Buy only what you need: Much of the household hazardous waste collected at facilities and special events is the result of people buying more than they need and letting it sit around until it is unusable. Carefully calculate your needs and don't over buy.
• Choose the least hazardous product to do the job: Look for the signal words: CAUTION, WARNING, DANGER. These words tell you how hazardous a product is. Caution is the least hazardous. But there are also alternatives to these that are even less hazardous.
• Follow safety precautions included on the label: Work in a well-ventilated area. Store products away from children's reach, heat sources, high traffic areas. Use "Mr. Yuck" stickers to identify harmful products in your home. Dispose of products through local household hazardous waste collection programs or as instructed on the product label.
• If you are moving in or moving out: Do you have unwanted household hazardous products that you are not able to use yourself? You may be able to give them away or you can call the state Household Hazardous Waste Hotline for information on collection programs. Call 1-800-732-9253.
• Give it away: If you do have products left over, give them to friends or neighbors. If you have paints or cleaners call your local charitable organizations to see if they are in need of these products.

You make a difference. Consider this...

If just 1% of US families cut their hazardous waste in half, we'd keep 7.3 million pounds of hazardous waste out of our landfills and waterways each year.

Information taken from:

• Hazardless Home Handbook
  Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Metro
• Alternatives to Pesticides,
  Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
• The Recyclers Handbook,
  Earthworks

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