Some households collect up to 100 pounds of hazardous waste per year. Here’s how to store and dispose of it correctly.
Even though most of us associate hazardous waste with factories and the pharmaceutical industry, lots of this dangerous junk gathers in every US household, and for many reasons, it should never end up in a landfill or our water system.
If disposed of incorrectly, hazardous waste can pollute water, destroy habitats and cause human illness. Unfortunately, many people don’t even know when they’re causing unnecessary harm.
Those old paint tins with a little leftover, commercial cleaners, adhesives, and used oil are all examples of hazardous waste, and if thrown down the drain, they can harm the environment. According to the EPA, anything that can catch fire, explode, react, or has corrosive or toxic properties is considered hazardous waste.
Here are some examples of hazardous waste:
The average US household produces over 20 pounds of hazardous waste per year. Here’s what you need to do to protect our environment.
Before we discuss how to dispose of hazardous waste responsibly, it’s worth detailing how you can reduce your usage. Of course, you can’t go without medication and certain commercial cleaners, but there are ways you can become less reliant on certain hazardous products. For example, instead of using a cleaner to unblock your drains, use a plunger.
Here are some other ways you can become less reliant on hazardous products:
The less reliant you become on hazardous products, the less waste you’ll generate, and consequently, less potentially harmful chemicals will end up in our water, atmosphere and landfills.
Unfortunately, very few people can avoid purchasing potentially harmful products altogether, meaning you need to know how to store them properly. Make sure you keep these considerations in mind:
Here’s how to correctly dispose of hazardous household waste:
Don’t assume empty containers can’t be harmful, and never throw hazardous waste down the drain.
At Junk Kings, we know it can be confusing to know what constitutes as hazardous waste and how to dispose of it, which is why we provide a junk retrieval service and endeavor to dispose of all dangerous waste safely. If you have a large volume of waste and need an easy way to dispose of everything responsibly, contact us today, and we’d be delighted to tell you how we can help.