Things You Can Do For The Environment

  1. Learn whether your home has lead paint. If lead paint in your home is in poor condition, hire trained workers to make the necessary repairs.
     
  2. Never pour automotive products, cleaning chemicals, pesticides, solvents, paints, and other chemicals down the drain, in the trash, onto the ground, or into storm drains.
     
  3. Purchase only the amount of household chemicals that you will use. Give leftover cleaning products, paints, pesticides, and other hazardous chemicals that you no longer use to a friend, neighbor, or community group that can use them. If you cannot find someone to use them, check with you local health, environmental protection, or public works department to see if they have a household hazardous waste collection program.
     
  4. If you spill a chemical, clean it up promptly according to the manufacturer's instructions. Kitty litter or some other absorbent materials are often helpful in cleaning up liquid spills. Remove grass and soil that may have been contaminated by the spilled material. Dispose of the spilled materials and cleanup materials according to direction from your local department of public works or environmental protection.
     
  5. Look for and buy household chemicals that are less toxic/hazardous. Often these chemicals are water based.
     
  6. Use rechargeable batteries. Recycle old batteries.
     
  7. Use latex/water based paints instead of oil based paints.
     
  8. Consider alternatives to chemical pesticides, including biological methods of control (predatory insects, viruses, and other microorganisms), mechanical methods of control (hand removal, use of traps, and cultivation), and cultural methods of control (insect resistant plants and building or landscape design). If you must use pesticides, buy only what you need, use the pesticides according to the manufacturer's guidelines, and store the pesticides safely.
     
  9. Report hazardous materials spills promptly to the Department, 24-hours per day, at (866) 633-4686.
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