Hazards Around Your Home
Household Hazardous Waste
Automotive Chemicals
Despite the fact that many of us encounter automotive chemicals on a regular basis, these materials do pose a significant risk to our environment if they are not disposed of properly. Keeping these materials out of our water supply is critical. One gallon of motor oil can contaminate 1 million gallons of fresh water. Dumping used motor oil on the ground or down storm drains can have devastating effects and should never be done.
Fortunately, recycling programs for materials such as used motor oil, oil filters, antifreeze, transmission fluid, lubricants, waxes, etc., are common around Indiana and the proper handling of these substances is convenient in most communities. In fact, many local and national auto service centers and auto parts stores will readily accept used motor oil from the public free of charge. Stores such as Walmart, AutoZone, Jiffy Lube and others offer such services. Please call ahead for details as each program may be a bit different.
Additional recycling and disposal options for automotive chemicals are likely available by finding and contacting the solid waste management district in your area.
The phrase “mad as a hatter” has been around for hundreds of years. Have you ever wondered where the phrase originated? In the 19th Century, hat makers would often be mentally unstable, exhibit personality changes, suffer from tremors of the hands and feet and weep for little or no reason. Why did they act so strangely? They were suffering from mercury poisoning. Mercury nitrate was used in the 1800s as part of the felting process. Hat makers or hatters were commonly exposed to mercury on a daily basis and it dramatically affected their nervous systems.
While the use of mercury is much more closely regulated now, it is still used in many of the items we commonly use at home or at work. Since mercury is a liquid, it can be easily vaporized and contaminate the air we breathe or it can quickly slip down a drain and contaminate our water system. So, the proper handling and disposal of mercury-containing items like old-style thermometers, thermostats, fluorescent light bulbs and some batteries is critical to protecting human and environmental health.
Contact your local solid waste management district to learn more about mercury disposal programs in your area.
More information regarding mercury, including mercury cleanup guidelines, can be found at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s website
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Batteries
The proper handling and disposal of batteries can be a very confusing issue. There are many types—alkaline, carbon-zinc, lithium, nickel-cadmium, nickel metal hydride, button cell and lead-based. Fortunately, there are many different programs and approaches across Indiana and the nation related to the handling, disposal and recycling of batteries.
There are standard rules and recycling programs for rechargeable and lead-based (automotive) batteries, and retailers that sell these types of batteries are generally required to accept them from the public for recycling, regardless of where the batteries were purchased. Most large retailers, including Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Kmart, Sears, and others, will accept the types of batteries they sell (rechargeable, lead-based, or both). It’s always a good idea to verify a store’s participation and program details prior to bringing batteries for recycling, so call the store directly ahead of time.
Additionally, you can always contact the solid waste management district in your area for more information on programs in your community.
It accumulates in cabinets, garages, sheds and under sinks. We end up buying too much of it so we hold onto it “just in case.” It’s paint. Various colors, sizes, sheens, finishes, and hues all just sit there until we decide it’s time to get rid of it…but now what do we do with it? Well, that depends…
The proper disposal of paint and paint products depends on the chemicals used to manufacture them. For instance, latex paint is a water-based substance and as such, does not require special disposal. Once latex paint is hardened or dried out, it can be placed in the normal household trash. Contact your solid waste management district to learn how to identify, harden, and dispose of latex paint in your area.
Oil-based paints, varnishes, stains, epoxies, spray paints, etc. must be disposed of via a household hazardous waste program. These types of products, like many other materials considered household hazardous waste, will have words like caution, warning, danger, flammable, corrosive, toxic or poison on their labels. These items are prohibited from disposal in municipal solid waste landfills and incinerators and should never be burned, poured down drains, or concealed in household trash for disposal. Contact your local solid waste management district to learn more about household hazardous waste disposal options in your community.
Household Medical Wastes
For years many believed that the best way to dispose of unwanted medicines was to flush them down the toilet. Research now shows that trace amounts of those same drugs are detectable in our freshwater sources (creeks, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs). The processes used to treat the wastewater generated at our homes and businesses are not capable of removing some of the chemicals used to manufacture today’s pharmaceuticals.
Stockpiles of unwanted medicines pose other threats as well. Medications are the most common poison exposure category in the United States, and the unsecured storage or disposal of drugs is a significant source of accidental poisonings. Additionally, senior citizens routinely become confused or self-prescribe medicines when many years of old, outdated medications remain in their homes.
Stockpiled medications may also be targeted by those looking to abuse them. In such cases, homeowners or occupants can unwittingly add to the drug abuse problem.
A number of unwanted medicines disposal options exist. Many of Indiana’s solid waste management districts offer ongoing or periodic collection events for residents. Contact your local solid waste district for information about programs in your community. If a collection program is not offered in your area, instead of flushing unwanted medications or washing them down a drain, you are encouraged to render the medicines unpalatable (crush pills and mix with coffee grounds, absorb liquid medicines in cat litter, etc.) and hide the medicines in your household trash. Sending these medicines to a landfill for disposal is a much better option than introducing them to our water system.
More information from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management about the proper disposal of unwanted medicines.
Medical Sharps
Hypodermic needles, lancets and other such medical devices pose serious health threats when not disposed of properly. Needle sticks can transmit serious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. Solid waste workers are most at risk when medical sharps are mixed with typical household trash.
Even needles placed in sturdy containers for disposal are a threat when those containers break open inside a compactor truck on a trash pick-up route. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for plastic or steel containers full of medical sharps to be sent for recycling despite the risk those containers pose to workers moving and sorting those materials. No can, jug or jar that contains sharps should ever be placed for recycling pick up. In addition, wastewater treatment plant personnel are at risk when sharps are flushed down toilets as those devices must be removed as part of the water treatment process.
A number of disposal options for medical sharps exist. Many communities have local programs available to help residents responsibly dispose of sharps they generate in their homes. Contact your local solid waste district for more information about collection programs in your area.
Mail-back programs are also available. For a fee, residents will be provided with a sharps container to use in their homes. Once the container is full, it can be sealed and mailed back to the company for disposal. Some medical offices, pharmacies, and health departments may also offer sharps disposal programs. Lastly, some manufacturers offer needle destruction devices that melt, sever, and/or burn sharps, rendering them safe for disposal.
PROBLEM WASTES
Electronic waste is the fastest growing waste stream. Over 1.2 million electronic devices are discarded in Indiana each year. Electronics such as televisions, computer components and cell phones contain five toxic materials: lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and brominated flame retardants. When in typical use, these chemicals do not pose a risk, but disposal releases toxic materials that can impact the immune system, reproductive system, fetal and child development, kidney and respiratory systems.
When electronics and computers are properly reused and recycled, the risks to human health and environment are reduced. Valuable metals and plastics are saved, and energy used for mining and production is conserved.
National, state, and local electronics recycling programs exist and continue to grow.
Contact your local solid waste district for collection program information. Some manufacturers and retailers offering reuse and recycling include Dell, HP, Apple, Lenovo, IBM, Sony, and Best Buy.
More details are available on the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s website
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According to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, discarded appliances are second only to old automobiles as a source of recycled materials, particularly steel. Many appliances also contain other valuable metals like aluminum and copper that can be recycled, as well as plastics and refrigerants. Those refrigerants, specifically chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), can deplete the Earth’s ozone layer if not handled properly. Therefore, it is important that unwanted appliances, especially those containing refrigerants, are properly recycled.
Hoosiers generate approximately seven million scrap tires annually. Improper disposal leads to mosquito breeding and serious fire hazards.
Waste tires collect rainwater, creating ideal breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes. One tire can generate thousands of mosquitoes in one season.
Large piles of burning tires pose expensive challenges for firefighters and release polluted smoke including carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, benzene, and butadiene.
Many tire recycling programs are available. Indiana retailers selling new tires must accept old tires from their customers. Some retailers accept extra tires for a fee. Choose retailers that recycle old tires responsibly.
Contact the solid waste management district in your area to learn more about tire recycling in your community.