How to Stop Toxic Waste

Toxic waste is any sort of waste that contains materials that are harmful to people or to the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency has classified harmful wastes, and it has laid out rules and regulations for the proper disposal of the materials. However, if you want to stop toxic waste, then knowing what it is encompasses only the first step of the process. How far you want to go to stop the creation of toxic waste is up to you.

Instructions

• 1

  Go through the toxic wastes that you generate in your home. From paint thinner to furniture cleaner, dozens of household chemicals and cleaners qualify as toxic waste. Carefully read over the labels to see which chemicals can be thrown out and which cannot; it's required by law that toxic wastes be labeled as such so that consumers know the proper disposal methods. Make sure that you properly dispose of all your household toxic wastes, and if you're not sure where or how, contact your local Department of Waste Management and ask for disposal sites.

• 2

  Find alternatives for toxic products and chemicals in your life. For instance, you could purchase cleaners that don't contain bleach, or you could use more natural cleaning methods, such as citrus juice or vinegar to scrub away stains in your home. This won't always be an option, since your car will always need motor oil and transmission fluid when it comes time to change them out, but you can decrease the amount of toxic waste that you are generating, which will make a difference over the long term. Additionally if you purchase green, nontoxic products, then you are making a statement with your purchases that you are not going to invest in toxic products.

• 3

  Get involved in local politics regarding toxic waste and environmental policy. It's required by law that proposed changes in the codes and laws about dumping wastes, generating them in certain amounts and other legal tenets have to be proposed to the public for hearings. So stay abreast of the laws in your area and make your voice heard.

• 4

  Write letters to those in the government, and to newspapers and other media outlets in your area to try to get some attention. Start a blog or attempt to get onto radio shows to make people aware of what's happening and keeping the public abreast of the effects these laws can have on health for both the people in the community, as well as for the environment.