Hazardous Waste Projects
What Are Household Hazardous Wastes?
HHW are wastes that are produced from the most common household activities. These could include:
- Pesticides, paints, and varnishes
- Paint thinners and other solvents
- Motor oil, antifreeze, and other automobile fluids
- Household cleaners, polishes, and waxes
- Wood preservatives, photo and hobby chemicals
- Swimming pool chemicals and batteries
Examine the label on your household products to see if they contain the words Danger, Poison, Warning, or Caution. If they do these products may be ignitable, corrosive, reactive or toxic and fall under the definition of a household hazardous waste.
Why Recycle Household Hazardous Wastes?
Reduction
and recycling of household hazardous wastes conserves resources and energy
that would be expended in the production of more products. Reuse
of HHW products can save money and reduce the need for generating hazardous
substances. Proper disposal prevents pollution that could endanger
human health and the environment. HHW discarded with other trash
may contaminate the air or groundwater, react or explode in waste compactors,
or injure personnel handling these wastes. Improper disposal in sanitary
or storm water sewers may damage septic systems, sewage treatment plants,
drinking water supplies, corrode plumbing, or cause treatment plant sludge
to be hazardous.
What You Can Do
In many communities safely disposing of or recycling hazardous wastes can become expensive or almost impossible depending on your location. But there are things you can do to make a difference.
- Encourage community members to reduce the waste and recyclables they generate by buying products with less packaging, to buy in bulk, and reuse or share materials with others. Also encourage people to check and compare labels and see if a less toxic product will work just as well, buy only what is needed, use products according to label directions, and never mix products (dangerous reactions could occur and could make wastes harder to dispose of).
- Organize a swap in your community where members can bring their leftover paint, household cleaners, or other supplies and exchange them or allow someone else to use them up. For example someone could bring a half full can of paint that they don’t need anymore and instead of buying a new can of paint someone can use up what is left of that one. Possibly start by going around your community to see who would be interested, find a central area in your community that everyone can get to easily, and make up flyers of the location, time, date, and description of the event. Make it clear on your flyers that this is an exchange NOT a disposal so people don’t bring their empty containers.
- Storage may be the safest temporary solution if there is not a safe and organized system in your community to handle hazardous household waste. So educate members in your community about safe ways to store their hazardous wastes, hold a community meeting or go door to door with flyers. Here are some safe ways to store hazardous materials:
- Make sure containers are on high shelves or in locked cabinets away from children.
- Protect the label (when it comes time to dispose of the hazardous waste it is important to know exactly what it is so it can be appropriately disposed of and doesn’t cause a reaction if mixed with other wastes).
- Store hazardous household chemicals in their original containers.
- Close containers tightly.
- Keep containers dry to prevent corrosion.
- Store similar products together to reduce any danger from reactions if containers should leak or contents should spill.
- Store hazardous household products in a well ventilated area.
- You can also educate community members on what not to do when it comes to hazardous wastes; you could also mention this in your community meeting or add it to your flyer. For example:
- Don’t throw hazardous wastes in the garbage; they can leak into water supplies or cause air pollution.
- Don’t pour them down the drain; they could leak into your water supplies.
- Don’t pour them in rivers, lakes, ditches, or any water sources. They could poison plants and wildlife, contaminate the soil, or leak into your drinking water.
- Don’t burn them; you risk producing poisonous fumes and contributing to air pollution. Controlled burning in special hazardous waste incinerators by trained professionals can be a good disposal method, but open burning by someone who is untrained can be dangerous.
- Don’t dump it or bury them; they may leach through the soil and contaminate the soil or water.
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