How to Reduce Hazardous Waste in Your Home

With constant warnings about the state of our environment, it’s easy to forget that every household can do a small part in its recovery. Inflammable, toxic, corrosive, and unstable substances are common parts of products. Their use not only endangers the planet, but also the health of humans, animals, and plants living under one roof.    

To reduce hazardous waste in your home, you have to find a way to replace these chemicals, stop using them, or at least lessen their application. So, here are tips for how to do it to lead a healthier and more eco-responsible life. 

Don’t use commercial plant-caring products

As a gardener, you face many challenges, and some of them are pests, insects, weeds, and barren soil. Unfortunately, commercial additives, like herbicides, pesticides, and insecticides can harm plants in your garden besides taking care of your problems. You can look for environmentally approved and organic options, or make your own products with tea, soap, and neem oil.

Fertilizer plays an integral part in having a healthy and thriving garden, but you don't have to buy products that contain toxic ingredients that can poison the soil and enter the groundwater. Instead of throwing away some of your leftovers, like fruit peels, tea bags, and used coffee grounds — turn them into compost. Foliage, grass clippings, and branches from the backyard, eggshells, newspaper, and cardboard should also find their way into your future fertilizer. 

Switch to NPE-free detergents

Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) is a common ingredient of laundry detergents, although it has other industrial and domestic applications. After use, it’s eliminated from the household through the drain, ending up in the wastewater treatment plants or septic systems. Because it can’t be degraded and is known to become more potent when in contact with bacteria, NPEs released into the waterways are highly toxic to aquatic ecosystems.

The market offers many green alternatives that are equally efficient in keeping your laundry clean and don’t pollute the environment. When you go to the store, take your time to check the labels for the presence of NPEs. Some of the best non-toxic brands may also have products with NPEs and other harmful substances, so always read the ingredient list to make sure. 

Make your own cleaners

Household cleaning products can contain dangerous chemicals, like sulfuric acid and petroleum distillates. If used without gloves or a face mask, contact with these products can cause chemical burns and irritations to the skin and eyes. When vapors are inhaled, they can cause difficulty in breathing which may lead to hospitalization. 

Homemade cleaners are just as efficient as commercial ones, only without these safety issues. The chances are you already have all the ingredients in the house to make them, like lemon juice, baking soda, vinegar, borax, and pure soap. Moreover, you can use them to wash dishes, clean countertops, mop floors, and even do the laundry.  

Replace asbestos in your home

If you live in an old house that hasn’t seen any renovations or repairs in a while, you may want to check the state of your asbestos-containing areas. When undisturbed, asbestos is not a problem, but if there’s any damage releasing it into the air, you need to deal with it immediately. Freed fibers can enter the lungs and digestion system leading to serious health problems, so professional asbestos removal is the only option to avoid this. 

Any sign of water, physical, or any other damage that can disturb asbestos should be taken seriously. Moreover, if you plan remodeling, renovations, or minor changes that require drilling, sawing, cutting, and other works, it's best to replace asbestos completely first. Even the smallest amount of friable asbestos can end up in the air and then your body, increasing risks for asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.  

Stop using highly toxic drain cleaners

Clogged drains are uncomfortable and annoying events that will have you reaching for anything efficient in clearing the way. However, drain cleaners contain highly toxic chemicals, harmful to the environment once they are flushed. Not to mention that coming in contact with these substances or inhaling their gasses can put you in the ER or, worse, a hospital bed.

For eco-friendly and healthy solutions, try baking soda and vinegar poured down the drain with some hot water. Pouring boiling water a few times a month may also prevent clogging, as well as using a plunger or sewer snake. The best solution is also the most unpopular one – not throwing greasy and clog-inducing leftovers down the drain, but in the trash or a compost bin.  

Don’t throw batteries in the trash

The thing with batteries is that they have cadmium and mercury, highly toxic heavy metals that can end up in the environment. Some countries have regulations that prohibit the removal of batteries via trash to prevent them from ending up in landfills and releasing lead and sulfuric acid. 

As an alternative, you can buy rechargeable batteries that are suitable for recycling when the time comes, but until then, they can serve you for a couple of years. Make sure to check your local area for hazardous waste disposal units to properly dispose of the batteries and not throw them in the trash.

Use eco-friendly paints and polishes 

Paints and polishes contain lots of toxic chemicals, like phenols, toluene, and perchloroethylene dangerous to inhale or swallow. These are known as volatile organic compounds or VOCs and can lead to nausea and headaches, but also liver, kidney, and CNS damage. 

To avoid this, use low-VOC or zero-VOC paints, although it’s best to opt for the latter. Additionally, look for eco-friendly paints to minimize your exposure to harmful chemicals. Water-based paints are healthier than oil-based since they don’t use thinners and solvents considered to be hazardous waste.     

All in all

Efforts to reduce hazardous waste in your home can have a large impact on your health and the state of the planet. Some chemicals pollute the air, others the soil, but they are all endangering living beings occupying water, land, and the sky. Since alternatives exist, like homemade cleaning products, it’s a small change for you, but a huge one for the environment and ecosystems it includes.

Mike is an Australian business consulting specialist. He’s working with companies that outsource their IT maintenance. He often writes about technology, business and marketing and is a regular contributor on several websites.

Guest Contributor: Mike Parsons