Make Your Home Eco-Friendly
I am trying to reduce the amount of toxins in my home, but I’m not sure what to do with the old stuff. Any ideas?
Aaah yes, toxins in the home. Given all the scary research about phthalates, parabens, antibacterial tricolosan, and so forth, this is a frequent quandary when one goes to replace product X with product Y. What do you do with all those asthma-allergy-cancer-related-destroying-our-environment chemicals?
Unfortunately, there is no one easy answer since, as laws of physics help us understand, nothing is really created or destroyed. Just shifted. Hence, out of your house does not mean it is out of your environment. Disposed of in the yard or down the storm drain just means you’ll be swimming in it, eating it, or drinking it in some form or another down the line. A 2006 study by the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) shows that a broad range of chemicals (hormones, pesticides, etc.) are found in 80 percent of randomly sampled streams across our country.
As such, the first and best choice is to take everything directly to your local hazardous waste facility. But since that may be beyond your time and/or energy commitments, here are some second-best guidelines:
- First of all, as a mother I don’t recommend using up the bad before replacing with the good. Once you know something is toxic, are you really going to enjoy massaging your baby with it? Or having her eat off of it? Do you really want to keep using that which reads “Caution/Danger/Keep Away From Children”? No, didn’t think so.
- For lotions, shampoos, makeup, and general cleansers, if the bottles are less than half full, you can empty them down the drain. Not fantastic, but in terms of disposal, our waste management systems are generally more equipped to deal with these toxins better than if you were to just pour everything out in the yard or into the street drains. The bonus is that you can then reuse the plastic bottles to make your own cleansers.
- Full bottles should be taken directly to your local toxics management site – or you can ship them back to the manufacturer and ask them to shift to healthier ingredients. Customer feedback (especially from groups of moms) does have an impact!
- Paints, solvents, and other heavily toxic chemicals must be taken to a toxic waste collection site.
- Old medicines and medicinal creams should be taken back to the pharmacy you purchased them from for proper disposal.
In regard to the actual hazardous management site in your region: these are mobile in some towns and at a fixed site or transfer center in others. Look online or in your phonebook for location details. It is also helpful to rally with a group of friends in detoxifying your home, and that way you can add in carpooling while you drop off that which you’re getting rid of. It is also a great excuse to catch up with friends while checking off an item on your to-do list at the same time!
For more information,
earth911.org is an excellent resource, as is actually talking with your local waste management experts. They are usually a wealth of information and oh-so-grateful to better educate YOU because that makes their job easier and more effective.
Finally... congratulations! You’ll feel so good about having made this change in your home and your children will thank you.
About The AuthorKimberly Danek Pinkson is the founder of the EcoMom Alliance and a popular media guest and keynote speaker on issues of green living and sustainability. A longtime social entrepreneur and freelance writer, she is a frequent contributor for parenting magazines and websites such as BabyCenter and iVillage. Kimberly works with her team of EcoMom Leaders to bring forth the organizationâ??s positive and proactive messaging, including teaching Sustain Your Self workshops nationwide. She is the proud mommy to son Corbin, a doting auntie to two nephews, and very happy to be a part of The Cradle. To learn more about Kimberly and join the EcoMom Alliance, please visit ecomomalliance.org.
