Column: A few easy steps can help the environment
Published 12:00 am Friday, September 13, 2002
There are many ideas for an environmentally friendly lifestyle. I have compiled a large number of articles on this topic and would like to review some of them. If everyone could find just one or two of these ideas and use them, the total effect of thousands of people doing &uot;something&uot; would be great.
Read labels and charts: Following the directions, especially when applying a poison or chemical for weed and bug control, will save you money, effort, and do a better job. Most chemicals will not do a better job if you use twice as much. You could hinder the product from doing what it is intended to do.
Replace your mercury thermometer with a digital unit. We have these thermometers in our office and offer a FREE exchange to anyone bringing us the mercury unit. The mercury is sent to the MPCA contractor safe disposal. Broken mercury thermometers puts a dangerous, toxic chemical into your home. Over a period of time, mercury evaporates and we breathe it, or it is touched and absorbed into our system. If the mercury is washed down the sink it may stick to plumbing fixtures causing ongoing toxic emissions or enter the environment and into water supplies.
Choose products made from plant-based materials such a citrus, seed, vegetable or pine. These are biodegradable and generally less toxic. They also provide the benefit of being made from renewable resources.
Keeping a floor mat at your home entrance will encourage people to wipe their feet before entering. These carpets will pick up and hold some dirt that may contain pesticides from the lawn or chemicals that have washed into the street. Children playing on your carpet may be more exposed to pesticides than outdoors because many toxins do not break down without sunlight. Pound for pound, children breathe more air, drink more water, and eat more food, and when they play, crawl and put things in their mouths. As a result, children have an increased chance of exposure to potential pollutants, and because children’s bodies are still developing, they may process these pollutants differently from adults.
Single-ingredient, common household materials such as baking soda, vinegar or plant-based soaps and detergents often do a good cleaning job. Soap and water has been shown to keep surfaces as free of bacteria as antibacterial soaps. Also, if you live in the country and have a septic system, you could damage the treatment of your sewer system by overusing antibacterial products.
Never microwave foods in a plastic container unless it is approved for that kind of use. Chemicals from the plastic can become absorbed by food during microwaving. Cover with waxed paper or paper towel instead of plastic wrap to keep from spattering.
Now, how do we rid our basement and garage of the toxic chemicals we no longer want or need? Easy. Bring them to a Freeborn County Household Hazardous Waste collection. There are not many opportunities left as the season ends on Sept. 28. We have visited nearly every community in the county and the season is ending soon. Most of the material we receive is old paint, varnish, stain or solvents, but we have been getting a lot of yard chemicals and acids this year too. If you miss us this year, we will not be collecting again until spring of 2003 so gather up all those unwanted chemicals and bring them to the next collection.
Randy Tuchtenhagen is Freeborn County’s solid waste officer in the Environmental Services Department.