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Recycling Guide

  • First: All kinds of papers.
  • Second: Cans and bottles that have been rinsed.
  • Third: Biodegradables, such as fruit peels and vegetables that can be used as organic composite.
  • Fourth: Non-recyclables.

Household Hazardous
Waste(HHW)

Article By Earth 911 - http://www.earth911.org

Household Hazardous Waste(HHW) is any product that is discarded from a home or a similar source that contains volatile chemicals that are:

  • Ignitable: capable of burning or causing a fire e.g. flammable or combustible.
  • Corrosive: capable of eating away materials and destroying living tissue when contact occurs e.g. acids and alkaline, bases.
  • Explosive and/or Reactive: capable of causing an explosion or releasing dangerous or poisonous fumes when exposed to air, water or other chemicals.
  • Toxic: poisonous, either immediately or over a long period of exposure time e.g. pesticides, herbicides, lead, mercury.
  • Radioactive: capable of damaging and destroying cells and chromosomal material.

Just a few examples of HHW are used motor oil, oil-based paint, auto batteries, gasoline and pesticides. The term HHW refers specifically to those products used in and around the common household, not used for any industrial purpose.

These products can be harmful to living things, the environment, and to the people handing them, if they are not disposed of properly. This means HHW should never be dumped on the ground, down the drain, or thrown in the trash.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Americans generate 1.6 million tons of HHW per year. The average home alone at any one time can accumulate as much as 100 pounds of HHW in basements, garages, under the sink, and in storage closets.

How To Monitor Hazardous Products

Determining which products in your house are hazardous is easy–just read the label! Because of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act of 1960, any consumer product that is considered hazardous must be labeled.

The Act requires that these labels include a description of the hazard, first aid instructions and directions on how to properly store and handle the product. Every hazardous product will be labeled with one of the following terms; the term will depend on the level of the product’s hazard:

  • POISON and DANGER: These labels are on products with the highest level of toxicity. The POISON label means that if this product is consumed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin, it can cause injury or death.
  • DANGER: This label indicates that the product is highly toxic, flammable or corrosive, meaning it can poison you, cause a fire, or eat away at your skin or eyes.
  • WARNING and CAUTION: These labels indicate the lowest level of hazard, but if you see these warnings on a household product, the product is still toxic or poisonous, flammable or ignitable, corrosive or reactive.

If you do not see any of these labels on a product, it means the product is not hazardous. Pesticides are excluded because they do not fall under the Hazardous Substances Act.

Pesticides have been regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency since 1972, however, and require labels to warn consumers of their toxicity, as well. The labels for pesticides are similar to the ones above, except for that WARNING means the pesticide is moderately toxic, and there are two different levels for the CAUTION label: slightly toxic and not toxic.

According to a University of Missouri report by Marie Steinwachs of the Office of Waste Management, “A household hazardous product is one whose use or disposal poses a threat to human health or the environment.”

Most household hazardous products can fit into four categories, however, which makes hazardous product identification a little bit easier. The categories are as follows:

  • Automotive Products: motor oil, brake and transmission fluid, antifreeze and car batteries, gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, car wax with solvent, and windshield wiper fluid.
  • Home Improvement Products: paint, varnish, stain, paint thinner, paint stripper, caulk, adhesives, primer, rust remover, turpentine, mineral spirits and glues.
  • Household Cleaners: drain cleaners, oven cleaners, toilet cleaners, spot removers, silver polishes, furniture polishes, window cleaners, bleach, dyes, tub and tile cleaner, and ammonia.
  • Pesticides: insecticide and insect repellant, weed killer, rat and mouse poison, pet spray and dip, flea collars, mothballs, ant/roach killer, garden fungicides, slug poison, wood preservative, and banned pesticides.

Other household hazardous products that don’t fit into these categories include certain electronics, batteries, aerosol products, air fresheners, smoke detectors, shoe polish, cosmetics, pool chemicals, lighter fluid, prescription medicines, and arts and craft materials.