Mississippi Home-A-Syst: Managing Hazardous Household Wastes

Before Completing Your Self-Assessment

This hazardous household waste self-assessment is an important part of the Home-A-Syst program. Home-A-Syst helps you evaluate conditions around your home that could threaten your drinking water quality. Please read this introductory information carefully before completing your self-assessment. Since practically everyone generates hazardous household wastes, anyone interested in protecting water quality should complete this self-assessment.

This self-assessment is one in a series of voluntary environmental self-assessments in the Home-A-Syst program. For a more complete picture of all activities and conditions that could affect your drinking water quality, review and complete the other Home-A-Syst self-assessments available from the Extension Energy Center. You also are encouraged to review and complete other environmental self-assessments in the companion Farm-A-Syst program, available at your county Extension office.

Your responses to this self-assessment are for your use. Although completing this self-assessment is voluntary, taking a few minutes to respond to it may help identify activities that could lead to water quality problems. You are encouraged to involve your spouse and/or children in completing your self-assessment. If you need other help or follow-up information, contact your county Extension office.

Managing Hazardous Household Wastes

Although many people may not realize it, virtually every household produces hazardous wastes. Even everyday personal care products like nail polish and remover, spot removers, moth balls, shoe polish, and even some medicines produce potentially hazardous wastes when they are disposed. Other examples are pest strips, home and garden pesticides, drain and oven cleaners, furniture polish and wax, paints, stains, wood preservatives, and used motor oil and antifreeze. Key words to look for on all household products are caution, warning, or danger/poison. They tell you the product is hazardous.

It is possible to contaminate your water supply by storing partly filled hazardous waste containers, used oil, old batteries, and other products near your well or in an abandoned well where wastes seep into the groundwater. Some hazardous household products produce poisonous fumes, so use them with plenty of ventilation. Be careful not to mix different products, since dangerous reactions can happen. Read the label on all household products and keep them out of children's reach.

The keys to managing hazardous household wastes are to reduce the amount of unused products on hand and dispose of empty containers properly. Buy only the product amount you need and completely use the product for its intended use. If you cannot use all the product yourself, store it safely or share it with a friend or relative who can. Leftover products often create disposal problems.

Safe disposal options include taking empty hazardous household waste containers to an approved landfill or garbage collection site with other solid wastes. Hazardous household products also may be recycled in a waste collection program. Products such as used motor oil or old batteries may be taken to a retailer for recycling. But do not take them or other hazardous products to a dump or landfill, since they cannot be accepted legally. Do not mix hazardous household wastes with household trash, and do not pour them down the kitchen drain or on the ground near your well or septic tank.

Hazardous Household Versus Hazardous Farm Wastes

Unlike farm and industrial hazardous wastes, household hazardous wastes are not governed by law. But respect all hazardous products, because they often use the same chemicals. Always read the product label, use the product completely on its intended use, and properly dispose of or recycle empty containers. Also shop for environmentally safe products that will do the same job.

Use and store potentially hazardous products as far as possible from a private well. Do not use a wellhouse to store home pesticides or other hazardous products temporarily. Use care when using lawn or garden pesticides if your well is less than 100 feet away or if it is downhill of the application area. Immediately clean up oil, antifreeze, fuel, paint, or solvent spills.

If you are not sure whether a household waste is hazardous or if you need other information, contact your county Extension office or the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality at the address on the back of this publication. Keep the telephone number of the Mississippi Regional Poison Control Center, also listed, handy in case of emergency. Contact your county Extension office for other information.

Understanding Your Self-Assessment

Your private well is least likely to be contaminated by hazardous household wastes if you use as many of the low-risk practices in this self-assessment as you can reasonably follow. You may not be able to use all low-risk practices, but use as many as practical to protect your water quality. As you complete your self-assessment, do not be alarmed if you check several or even many high-risk statements. This does not automatically mean you have water quality problems. It could, however, tell you that your attention may be needed to avoid potential problems.

Directions

This self-assessment is a series of three-part statements, each with a low, medium, and high ranking. This ranking relates to the level of risk to your drinking water quality or other environmental risks associated with that activity or condition. First, read all statements in each set, then check the ranking that best describes conditions around your home. Remember, this self-assessment is for your information, and your goal is to apply as many low-risk practices as you can.

Level of risk

Low ( ) You reduce the amount of hazardous household wastes on hand by buying only the product amounts you can safely use in a reasonable period.

Medium ( ) You usually buy the amount of household products you can use in a reasonable period but sometimes buy more than you can use when you find bargain prices.

High ( ) You aren't aware of the amount of hazardous household products in your home. You usually don't see what products are on hand before buying others.

Low ( ) You have a good understanding of products in your home that can produce hazardous wastes. When you aren't sure, you contact your county Extension office before using or disposing of the product.

Medium ( ) You have a fair understanding of products in your home that can produce hazardous wastes, but you sometimes use or dispose of products without knowing for sure.

High ( ) You know little about products in your home that can produce hazardous wastes. You often use and dispose of products without knowing for sure, or sometimes mix some household products without knowing what may happen.

Low ( ) You always read the label on all household products before using them. You follow label directions for using and disposing of the product.

Medium ( ) You usually read the label on most household products before using them but sometimes take the product for granted and don't read it.

High ( ) You seldom read the label on any household products, and use and dispose of the product in the most convenient way.

Low ( ) You always store unused hazardous household products in a separate locked area away from children and in their original containers.

Medium ( ) You usually store unused hazardous household products along with other products on an open high shelf out of the reach of children.

High ( ) You usually store unused hazardous household products along with other products on a low open shelf or under the sink.

Low ( ) Before disposing of any hazardous household products, you recycle all products that can be recycled or store them safely until they can be disposed of in a community waste collection program.

Medium ( ) Before disposing of any hazardous household products, you contact your local landfill operator for recommended disposal methods.

High ( ) You dispose of hazardous household products by mixing them with other garbage, pouring them down a drain, burning, dumping, burying, or discarding them near a well, water source, or your septic tank.

Low ( ) You never use your wellhouse or the area around it to store paint, household pesticides or chemicals, oil or fuel products, or as a storage area for any other products.

Medium ( ) You use your wellhouse or the area around it to store some household materials, but none that are considered hazardous.

High ( ) You use your wellhouse or the area around it as a storage area for household pesticides, chemicals, or other hazardous products, or you aren't sure what is stored in your well house.

Low ( ) You use all lawn and garden pesticides according to label directions and apply them more than 100 feet downhill from a well or water source.

Medium ( ) You try to follow label directions in using lawn and garden pesticides but sometimes apply them within 100 feet of a well or water source.

High ( ) You don't make a habit of following pesticide label directions and frequently apply home pesticides less than 100 feet uphill from a well or water source.

Low ( ) You safely collect used motor oil from autos and return it and worn-out auto batteries to a retailer for recycling.

Medium ( ) You reuse previously used motor oil for other safe purposes, or temporarily store it and worn-out auto batteries in a secure location away from a well or water source until you can take them to a recycler.

High ( ) You don't recycle used motor oil or auto batteries, or you dispose of them in your yard, near a well or water source, in a ditch, or in a remote area away from your home.

Low ( ) You safely collect used auto antifreeze and reuse it in other radiators or take it to a dealer for recycling or safe disposal.

Medium ( ) You dispose of used auto antifreeze in a city drain after getting permission from wastewater treatment officials, or you contact your local landfill or incinerator operator.

High ( ) You pour used auto antifreeze on the ground near a well or your septic system or store it in open containers where children, livestock, or pets may reach it.

Low ( ) You try to limit drips and spills when using paints, thinners, stains, wood preservatives, and other hazardous household products. Any small spills are collected on drop cloths or applicators.

Medium ( ) You collect all drips and spills when using paints and other hazardous household products. You dispose of drop cloths and applicators at your local landfill or garbage collection site.

High ( ) You sometimes dump large spills of paints, wood preservatives, and other hazardous household products near a well or water source or dump them in a remote area.

For More Information

To identify potentially hazardous household products:

Your county Extension office

or

Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
Hazardous Waste Division
P. O. Box 10385
Jackson, MS 39289-0385
(601) 961-5052

For emergency first aid:

The Mississippi Regional Poison Control Center
1-601-354-7660

To report products that have caused you harm:

U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission
1-800-638-2772

For other information, contact your county Extension office.

This material is based on work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Extension Service, under special project number 90-EHUA-1-0014.

By Dr. Jimmy Bonner, Home-A-Syst program coordinator, Energy Extension Center

Mississippi State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or veteran status.

Publication 1870
Extension Service of Mississippi State University, cooperating with U.S. Department of Agriculture. Published in furtherance of Acts of Congress, May 8 and June 30, 1914. Ronald A. Brown, Director