How to Reduce Hazardous Yard Waste
Reduce, reuse, recycle. While responsibly disposing of or recycling your waste is a great step, reducing is far more impactful. Reducing your household hazardous products can be as simple as taking proper measurements of your project area and not using more than directed. However, some alternatives can reduce costs, protect our local soil and waters, and reduce the need for specialized waste drop-off services.
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Lawn Care
Garden Care
Pool Care
By implementing these actions and alternatives, you can significantly reduce hazardous waste in your household while promoting a healthier environment!
- Organic Fertilizers: Use compost, worm castings, or well-rotted manure to enrich soil naturally.
- Alternative Herbicides: Apply vinegar or salt to control weeds (research proper amounts), or use boiling water for targeted areas.
- Mulching: Use wood chips, shredded leaves, or grass clippings to suppress weeds and retain moisture.
- Native Plants: Choose flood and drought-resistant native plants that require less maintenance and fewer chemicals.
- Bats: Put up a bat house to make your neighborhood more inviting to the best natural mosquito repellent around.
- Lawn Alternatives: Consider replacing your lawn with clover or thyme or a mix.
Garden Care
- Companion Planting: Grow plants together that naturally repel pests or enhance growth (e.g., marigolds with tomatoes).
- Beneficial Insects: Attract native and beneficial insects to manage pests naturally by providing pollen-rich blooms.
- Natural Pesticides: Create insecticidal soap with mild soap and water to control soft-bodied insects.
- Crop Rotation: Practice rotating crops to prevent pest and disease buildup in the soil.
Pool Care
- Saltwater Systems: Consider switching to a saltwater pool system to reduce chemical usage.
- Enzymes: Use enzyme-based products to break down organic material instead of harsh chemicals.
- Regular Maintenance: Skim debris and vacuum regularly to minimize the need for chemical shock treatments.
- pH Balancers: Use baking soda or soda ash to maintain pH levels naturally.
- Cover Your Pool: Use a cover to minimize debris and evaporation, reducing the need for additional chemicals.
By implementing these actions and alternatives, you can significantly reduce hazardous waste in your household while promoting a healthier environment!
Seasonal Tips
Each season calls for different actions around your yard that protect our streams. In spring, learn when, how, and how much fertilizer to use; in summer, stay on top of picking up pet waste; during fall, be mindful of how you dispose of leaves and lawn debris; and in winter, explore alternatives to road salt. Each season offers unique opportunities to create a healthier ecosystem and home!
Dispelling Myths
Many underestimate the potential environmental and health impacts of the improper disposal of Hazardous Household Products (HHP), not realizing it can lead to contamination and health risks for the community. There are several other common misconceptions about how these products should be handled.
Understanding these misconceptions and more can help ensure safer handling and disposal of hazardous waste in your home.
- Only Chemicals Are Hazardous: Many people believe only industrial chemicals are hazardous. In reality, everyday items like batteries, paint, cleaning products, and pesticides can also be hazardous. In fact, many "natural" ingredients have the potential to be hazardous, too; it all depends on the amount or concentration. As they say, "the dose makes the poison".
- Chemicals Are Hazardous: Sometimes, it's all about using products in moderation and as instructed. One of the best things you can do is use cleaners, fertilizer, and pesticides in a deliberate, targeted way.
- More Is Better: There’s a belief that using more of a product will yield better results. In many cases, using more of a chemical cleaner doesn’t enhance its effectiveness and may increase harm.
- Waste Containers are Safe when Empty: Just because a container is empty doesn’t mean it’s safe. Residual chemicals can still pose a risk.
- All Material Collected at HHP Disposal Events is Recycled: While some materials can be recycled, many hazardous materials end up in special hazardous materials landfills, taking up limited space. This is why it is recommended to only buy what you need, share with neighbors, and consider alternative products.
Understanding these misconceptions and more can help ensure safer handling and disposal of hazardous waste in your home.
Check Your Answers
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Every year, Americans spend over $3 billion on pesticides for home and garden use. What percentage of these pesticides actually succeed in targeting and managing the intended pests?
A. 99% with a loss of $30 million B. 78% with a loss of $660 million C. 42% with a loss of $1.74 billion D. 1% with a loss of $2.97 billion Applying targeted pesticide treatments only when necessary or trying alternative methods of pest control can save you money and minimize the negative ecological impacts. See tips below!
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