Hazardous Household Products, Part 2 - More Helpful Tips on Proper Disposal
You must not only be concerned with proper disposal of hazardous household materials but also to find ways to limit the amount of garbage sent to landfills and incinerators.
In this article, I will share with you the three (3) Rs you should practice to limit the amount of garbage disposed.
In this way, you are continuing to protect the environment.
1) REDUCE: Reduce the amount of disposable material used in the form of shopping bags, paper towels, product packaging and so on.
Shopping bags especially can be a problem.
Though supermarkets are concerned about maintaining the highest standard of customer service, they go overboard with their generosity of shopping bags.
For instance, when 5 items of the same sort can be packed safely in one bag, one bag is used to pack one or two items.
This is unnecessary.
Our grocery can be packed efficiently without using so much shopping bags.
In the end, we end up with more shopping bags than we can handle.
Though in some cases we can reuse them.
2) REUSE: Reuse as many items as you possible can.
For example, cans or bottles can be used to store things around the house like nails, coins as well as to plant flower seeds.
Organics materials like food and yard waste can go into a compost pile.
This is a great way to recycle certain biodegradable materials to benefit your yard and garden.
Compost heap may consist of fruit and vegetable peels, stems, leaves, cores, pulp from your juicing machine, crushed egg shells, coffee grinds, cut flowers, wood ashes, sawdusts, pet droppings, mowed grass, hedge trimmings, small wood chips and dirt.
The finished product from composting can be used in your yard and garden soil as fertilizer.
Here is how to make a compost: a) To start, build a rough 3'x 3'x 3'pile by alternating wet or green material and dried or brown material.
b) Damp the pile as you build while sprinkling in some fresh soil or compost starter as a catalyst.
c) During the first month of starting the pile, turn the pile once a week to aerate and properly blend materials.
Remember to wet if necessary.
d) After the first month, use a compost thermometer to monitor the temperature of the pile.
A compost pile will normally heat up within the range of 120 - 160 degrees.
So, whenever the temperature falls below this range, turn the pile.
When it no longer heats up, it's ready for use.
3) RECYCLE: Whatever cannot be done in the methods above must be recycled at your local recycling centers.
Always follow the city's recycling laws and make most of the services that they offer.
To make it easier to keep track of recyclables, make a list and set up different containers accordingly.
For instance you would separate glass from plastic from paper and so on.
Remember to rinse out any residues before discarding.
The following are recyclables: 1) Paper such as newspapers, magazines, catalogs, cardboards, beverage cartons, paper bags, wrapping papers, office papers, junk mails, paperback books, telephone books.
2) Plastic such as bottles and jugs.
3) Glass such as bottles and jars.
4) Metal such as cans, aluminum foil and trays, utensils, pots and pans, appliances, furnitures, machine parts, tools, and nuts and bolts.
Practicing the 3 Rs, that is Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle should put you in an easy and better shape of limiting and proper disposal of materials.
Please, continue to protect the environment.
In this article, I will share with you the three (3) Rs you should practice to limit the amount of garbage disposed.
In this way, you are continuing to protect the environment.
1) REDUCE: Reduce the amount of disposable material used in the form of shopping bags, paper towels, product packaging and so on.
Shopping bags especially can be a problem.
Though supermarkets are concerned about maintaining the highest standard of customer service, they go overboard with their generosity of shopping bags.
For instance, when 5 items of the same sort can be packed safely in one bag, one bag is used to pack one or two items.
This is unnecessary.
Our grocery can be packed efficiently without using so much shopping bags.
In the end, we end up with more shopping bags than we can handle.
Though in some cases we can reuse them.
2) REUSE: Reuse as many items as you possible can.
For example, cans or bottles can be used to store things around the house like nails, coins as well as to plant flower seeds.
Organics materials like food and yard waste can go into a compost pile.
This is a great way to recycle certain biodegradable materials to benefit your yard and garden.
Compost heap may consist of fruit and vegetable peels, stems, leaves, cores, pulp from your juicing machine, crushed egg shells, coffee grinds, cut flowers, wood ashes, sawdusts, pet droppings, mowed grass, hedge trimmings, small wood chips and dirt.
The finished product from composting can be used in your yard and garden soil as fertilizer.
Here is how to make a compost: a) To start, build a rough 3'x 3'x 3'pile by alternating wet or green material and dried or brown material.
b) Damp the pile as you build while sprinkling in some fresh soil or compost starter as a catalyst.
c) During the first month of starting the pile, turn the pile once a week to aerate and properly blend materials.
Remember to wet if necessary.
d) After the first month, use a compost thermometer to monitor the temperature of the pile.
A compost pile will normally heat up within the range of 120 - 160 degrees.
So, whenever the temperature falls below this range, turn the pile.
When it no longer heats up, it's ready for use.
3) RECYCLE: Whatever cannot be done in the methods above must be recycled at your local recycling centers.
Always follow the city's recycling laws and make most of the services that they offer.
To make it easier to keep track of recyclables, make a list and set up different containers accordingly.
For instance you would separate glass from plastic from paper and so on.
Remember to rinse out any residues before discarding.
The following are recyclables: 1) Paper such as newspapers, magazines, catalogs, cardboards, beverage cartons, paper bags, wrapping papers, office papers, junk mails, paperback books, telephone books.
2) Plastic such as bottles and jugs.
3) Glass such as bottles and jars.
4) Metal such as cans, aluminum foil and trays, utensils, pots and pans, appliances, furnitures, machine parts, tools, and nuts and bolts.
Practicing the 3 Rs, that is Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle should put you in an easy and better shape of limiting and proper disposal of materials.
Please, continue to protect the environment.
