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Tag Archives: hazardous waste

Toxic Waste Disposal: How Marin County’s Zero Waste Policy Works

Did you know that the U.S. produces over 1.5 million tons of household hazardous waste per year? It’s true. The typical residential home easily contains up to 100 pounds in the garage, storage shed, and/or basement. If not properly disposed of, toxic waste can create serious potential risks to people and the environment. Junk King of Marin’s professional, fast, and green removal services can help with all your toxic waste disposal needs in a safe and secure way.

What is Toxic Waste?

Toxic Waste DisposalThere are five kinds of waste covered by Marin County policy: solid, liquid, organic, recyclable, and hazardous or toxic waste.

Toxic waste includes inflammables, corrosives, reactives, and other materials that easily catch fire, explode, erode metal, or poison humans and animals. Common household items that meet the toxic threshold include cleaners, asbestos, batteries, automotive fluids, stains and varnishes, certain paints, pesticides and herbicides, and many other items, including old propane tanks and fire extinguishers.

Each type of toxic waste has its own disposal method under Marin County regulations.

Toxic Waste Disposal Practices

In California, it is illegal to dispose of household hazardous waste by throwing it in the trash, flushing it down the drain, or by abandoning it. Marin County has a Zero Waste program that promotes the safe collection and disposal of household toxic waste so residents are in compliance with California state law. The County provides a “What We Accept” and “Not Accepted” list on its website.

Zero Waste Marin focuses on helping residents and businesses meet the county’s zero waste goal by 2025 with, among other things, safe toxic waste disposal. The program is made up of the city and town managers of the communities that make up the county, as well as the county itself. Residents can visit the program’s website to learn about less toxic alternatives they can use to clean and otherwise care for their homes and businesses.

The County also has bulb and battery take-back programs, paint disposal facilities, motor oil and filter recycling, and more.

Junk King of Marin is Your Toxic Waste Disposal Partner

Junk King of Marin has long been engaged in eco-friendly practices and we encourage our residential and business customers to see recycling, repurposing, and proper toxic waste disposal as an earth-friendly practice that reduces their environmental footprint. We’re committed to protecting the environment and our waste disposal services are designed to serve and benefit our local communities while protecting the planet.

If you’ve let toxic materials accumulate at your home or business because you just don’t have the time to deal with it, why not let our experienced crews help you sort through and figure out which of your household wastes can be recycled, reused, or repurposed, as well as which materials are considered hazardous.

Are you a Marin County resident looking for a socially responsible toxic waste disposal company that offers quality and friendly service? We’re the one to call! We’re North America’s #1 green junk and toxic waste disposal service and our professional crews make speedy work of sorting through and removing every type of waste from your home or business facility.

To learn more about our toxic waste disposal and other junk removal services, give us a call, text us a photo, or book an appointment online today! We look forward to serving you!

E Waste Disposal – Our Growing Problem and How We’re Helping to Solve It

How many abandoned electronic devices does your family have laying around? As new gadgets go obsolete on what seems like a daily basis and people don’t give a second thought to buying the latest and greatest technology, the country is facing a big and growing e waste problem. And with it comes an e waste disposal challenge.

E Waste Disposal Nearly a decade ago, the United Nations reported that in some countries, production of e waste would rise by as much as 500% over the next 10 years. Unfortunately, that prediction was accurate, with 20-50,000,000 metric tons of e waste disposed of worldwide every year. The statistics and trends on e waste are startling:

  • The average mobile phone user buys or leases a new cell phone every 18 months.
  • In the US, consumers toss over 100 million mobile devices in the trash every year.
  • According to the EPA, well over 100,000 computers are discarded every day in the U.S. alone. That’s a staggering 40 million+ laptops and desktop computers each year!

Sadly, less than 15% of e waste is disposed of and recycled properly. Junk King of Marin is committed to improving that statistic.

The Problem with Improper e Waste Disposal

Most people know they shouldn’t just throw e waste into the garbage. But many don’t know what items are considered e waste and how they should be handled. Yet when e waste is not recycled properly, it often ends up in landfills either here at home or in developing countries, where it can cause serious harm.

So, what exactly is e waste? The term covers any and all discarded electronics that, when improperly disposed of, can potentially harm the ecosystem. That’s because many electronics contain heavy metals like lead, mercury, lithium, and other hazardous materials that pollute the air we breathe and the water we drink. In addition to electronics, items such as fluorescent bulbs and tubes, pesticides, paints, old medications, cleaning products, and other chemicals are forbidden to be put in your regular trash or poured down a drain or gutter because of the contaminants they contain.

Letting the Pros Handle Your e Waste Disposal

Proper e waste disposal and recycling is vital for your and the planet’s health. That means everyone needs to be vigilant about where they recycle and dispose of their old and discarded electronics.

Figuring out where to recycle those old electronics, especially because many e waste recyclers limit what they accept, is a struggle for many in the Bay area. And, unfortunately, many so called e waste recyclers don’t recycle and handle e waste disposal in a proper and sustainable way.

Junk King of Marin has extensive experience in proper e waste disposal practices. From computers to cell phones and televisions, we handle all your e waste needs whether it be through recycling, repurposing, or proper disposal. The superior service that our skilled and friendly teams bring to the job ensures a quick and efficient removal of all your e waste.

If you reside in Marin County and are looking for a socially responsible e waste disposal company, Junk King of Marin is the solution you’ve been looking for. Give us a call, text us a photo, or book an appointment online today and let us help you properly dispose of all your abandoned electronics.

Clearing Up the Confusion Around Household Hazardous Waste

Household hazardous waste is one of the most confusing parts of responsible waste removal for most people. You know all about recycling (plastics, paper, metals, and glass) and having your mattress hauled away and perhaps donated, but what do you do with that left over motor oil or that paint can collecting dust in the basement? That’s a big question mark for a lot of people. But, first off, what is household hazardous waste? The truth is that the sheer breadth of consumer products that qualify make it hard to pin down what household hazardous waste even is.

Nailing Down the Definition of Household Hazardous Waste

Household Hazardous Waste The Environmental Protection Agency offers the following definition for folks: household hazardous waste (HHW) is any leftover household product that can ignite, react, or explode or that can corrode and cause toxicity issues if improperly disposed of. As you can probably already tell based on that definition, this could include the likely suspects like paint and household cleaners but it can also encompass outdoor pest control (e.g., certain pesticides) and automotive care products (e.g., gasoline, fluid, or oil). One of the most common types of household hazardous waste is batteries.

Universal Waste

The Environmental Protection Agency considers batteries universal waste (a subcategory of household hazardous waste) because they’re still dangerous to dispose of improperly in terms of soil contamination (even with removing all that mercury) but they’re also extremely common and used to power millions of electronic devices. Four types of universal waste could be considered household hazardous waste by the EPA: batteries, outdoor pesticides, lamps, and other mercury-containing equipment like fluorescent light bulbs. The bottom line is that a lot of the stuff on your garage shelf could probably be considered household hazardous waste. Oil-based paints, drain cleaners, antifreeze, and rodenticides might all require special treatment.
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Responsibly Dispose of Household Hazardous Waste in California

So, now that you’re looking through your garage or cupboard of cleaning supplies and wondering what to do with it all, how do you dispose of this stuff? Once you’re sure that you’re actually dealing with household hazardous waste and not a recyclable or reusable item, the next steps would be to use up what you have and/or use a household hazardous waste collection service in your area. The interesting part about all of this is that the Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t actually regulate HHW. Household hazardous waste collection programs are usually funded at the state level. The California Department of Toxic Substance Control takes household hazardous waste extremely seriously and says that in California it is against the law to dispose of household hazardous waste by pouring it down the drain or popping it in the trash and simply treating it as solid waste. Surprisingly, even abandoning or dumping your HHW like certain electronic waste is considered a crime. If improperly disposed of, HHW can harm the ecosystem (animals, plants, water, and soil) as well as human health. The state of California has put together this extensive list of household hazardous waste that includes electronic waste like old computer monitors (e.g., cathode ray tube monitors) and cell phones that Junk King can haul away. Pool cleaners, oven cleaners, and glues and adhesives are some surprising items that made the list. Once you know that you have hazardous waste on your hands (hopefully not literally!), take it to a nearby household hazardous waste collection facility for safe processing (solvents can sometimes be incinerated and used as energy) and/or disposal. Junk King is here to help. Contact Junk King for clean out services, e-waste removal, or donating gently used items.

Help The Environment By Practicing Eco Friendly Waste Disposal

In an effort to promote a healthy environment and ensure the safety of the general population people everywhere are urged to act responsibly and practice eco friendly waste disposal every time they dispose of waste. This practice essentially serves to avoid all the negative effects brought on by improper waste disposal.  It’s absolutely critical that people strive to incorporate environmentally friendly, waste disposal practices into their daily lifestyles as a way to promote healthy living and to make a positive impact on the environment overall.

 Tips That Help To Encourage Eco Friendly Waste Disposal

Waste DisposalWith ‘going green’ becoming a widespread practice globally many people may ask themselves, what is it that they can do to have a positive impact on the environment. Well this can be achieved in many ways from the domestic household to the industrial level and only requires that people consistently and responsibly dispose of waste in the appropriate and lawful manner.Nevertheless there are some other effective eco friendly tips people can utilize to help promote waste disposal the eco friendly way.

One popular method that has proven to help with effective waste management and eco friendly waste disposal is recycling. Though most domestic waste disposal services usually provide recycling receptacles for some domestic waste not everything can be placed in receptacles especially if items are too big or are not collected by regular trash services.

Considering this people may most likely have to seek out the services professional waste removalists to properly manage waste for recycling but most importantly when people do this they play vital role in reducing waste accumulation, landfill space and greenhouse emissions.

People could also consider reusing certain products – like for example lumber removed to remodel a home that’s still in good condition could be reused to build a bench or table instead of being thrown away. Additionally it is also of extreme importance that hazardous waste is disposed of in the correct manner as this can cause severe environmental damage and adverse health effects among the population when wrongfully exposed.

Apart from this using bio-degradable and environmentally friendly products can also be great ways to promote green, eco-friendly  waste disposal.

Let Junk King Help You To Conduct Eco- Friendly Waste Removal

Want to play your part in keeping the environment safe? Let Junk King give you a hand. With top rated services we specialize in the eco friendly removal and disposal of all types of waste. There’s no task is too big or too small for us to manage and we transport and process your waste with no additional fees or hassle to you.

Benefit from our professional, affordable, services and play your role in keeping the environment clean and your community safe. To get your waste removed visit our website at www.junk-king.com to book online or call us at 1-888-888-JUNK  to schedule an appointment right away.

Ensure Safety and Dispose Hazardous Waste Responsibly

Large amounts of waste are said to be generated in the United States on an annual basis and this as warranted the need for effective waste management and proper hazardous waste disposal practices in order to establish a means of controlling this tiresome issue.

Improper Disposal of Hazardous Waste can have Deadly Effects

Hazardous WasteStudies conducted have revealed that the improper disposal of waste has been identified as the number one cause of pollution globally which has led authorities to heavily regulate and enforce the proper disposal of waste. Failure to do so can lead to serious consequences and violators can face stiff penalties, heavy fines or cause adverse health effects and damage to the environment.

Water and soil contamination, damage to the ecosystem, disease or injury can all be the result when hazardous waste is poorly disposed. This is why it is strictly recommended that people act responsibly and dispose of hazardous waste in the safe and correct manner to ensure the health and safety of the population as well as a clean, healthy, environment.

Common Items that can be Regarded as Hazardous Waste

When referring to the disposal of hazardous waste there are several common items that are considered to be inappropriate for regular trash disposal and should otherwise be discarded in a safe and compliant manner. Here is a list of some hazardous waste items that are prohibited from being disposed into regular trash for pick up. These include:

Household cleaners.

  1. Auto products.

  2. Lawn and garden care products.

  3. Pesticides and Herbicides

  4. Paints/ Lacquers/Varnishes

  5. Batteries (including vehicle batteries)

  6. Oil or Gasoline

  7. Fluorescent lights.

  8. Electronics

  9. Medical waste.

Aside from these products other materials prohibited by law to be dumped as regular trash include explosives, radioactive items, biomedical waste and tires.

As it relates to the disposal of  medical waste like needles, sharps and syringes discarding of them improperly can pose serious health risks to the public and  waste management personnel as diseases like Hepatitis A, C and HIV can be easily transmitted from needle sticks. These should be safely managed to prevent injury and disease transmission.

Need Help Disposing Hazardous Waste? Let Junk King Manage the Job for You!

If you have hazardous waste that you don’t know how to manage give us a call at Junk King as we specialize in the removal of all types of waste. With safe, efficient, services we would be happy to come in and assist you.

Benefit from our top rated, professional, services at affordable rates give us a call at: 1-888-888-JUNK  to schedule a visit or you can check out our website  at:  www.junk-king.com  for more information.

Impactful Waste Disposal – Protect the Planet and Your Children’s Future

You are standing on a planet that is in peril — and this isn’t just something you’ll read about on the news, as environmental waste and pollution can end up hurting your family. The good news is, you can do a lot to protect both the entire world and your family by promoting an impactful waste disposal strategy.

How’s Your Water?

Many people don’t make the association between what they throw away and the groundwater, but it’s a powerful one. When someone throws away a piece of electronic equipment, tiny amounts of lead, mercury and other toxins can leech out of that equipment into the ground. Ordinary rain is one of the world’s most powerful agents of breaking down anything, and what comes out may end up making your water toxic. Regular landfills are set up to handle regular trash, but electronics and certain other items need special handling.

It’s Not Just the World — It’s Your Family

It can be tempting to not see the connection between what you do on a daily basis to help the world and how this impacts your family, but the connection is very real. Your children need to drink and bathe in the water that can get better or worse. Your children need to breathe the air that can be clean or polluted. The land will one day provide them with food, and healthy land produces far healthier food. In the same vein, they will one day have children that will also need to inherit the highest quality earth you can provide them with. Isn’t that the most powerful motivation you can think of?

Impactful-Waste-Disposal-Protect-the-Planet-and-Your-Childrens-Future-junk-king-marin-CA

Everyday Hazards You May Not Realize

Many ordinary household items can become dangerous if they aren’t handled properly during their disposal. Partial recycling and chemical treatment are essential to limiting the potentially toxic damage that these items can cause if they aren’t handled properly. Even common household products like shampoo and the food you throw away can become dangerous under the right conditions due to chemical interactions they can have. Beyond that, even more “obvious” dangers like air conditioning units or fridges filled with Freon are too often little more than left outside to leech out their worst parts. Without proper waste handling, this can quickly become a big deal.

Every Piece Counts

You know the world is massive, and often it seems like an ordinary person can’t do very much to change anything. While there are some exceptional people out there, most folks just aren’t making global changes — or so it seems. Every time a piece of toxic trash passes through your hands into a landfill or another less-responsible dumping location, it does make a difference. Further, it’s a difference that your family will eventually recognize as a problem. While you may not feel like you’re making a difference when you use a professional junk removal service, the environment will notice. The rewards you get out of the deal are both a good feeling and the knowledge that you’re protecting the ecosystem everyone needs to survive.

Start Today, Save Tomorrow

It’s tempting in this world to think that what you do today doesn’t make much of a difference, but it most definitely does. Using a quality waste removal company can be the difference between being a superhero versus being that nameless person at the start of a horror movie who never sees it coming. You want to ensure the future for your children, their children and for many generations yet to come, and you can start today by making sure every piece of junk that could hurt the ecosystem is properly hauled away in an environmentally-friendly fashion. Contact us the experts and let us help you make the world a much healthier place to live.

What You Need to Know About Household Hazardous Waste

If you are like most homeowners, you have all sorts of junk scattered around your home. It is easy to let things accumulate in the basement, attic or backyard. Junk King is here to to haul away just about every piece of junk from your property. Though we have the manpower and equipment available to haul away the vast majority of your items, we do not accept certain types of household hazardous waste. Let’s take a look at the dangers of household hazardous waste and explain why you should be careful when removing these items from your property.

Why Junk King Hauls it all but for Household Hazardous Waste

Our mission is to haul all types of junk unless it has the potential to cause a fire or create an environmental hazard. If you have an old mattress, table, furniture, yard debris or just about anything else, we will show up to your property and haul it away. However, we draw the line at certain household hazardous waste items. For safety and health reasons we do not remove hazardous items like biological waste and asbestos. The bottom line is that if the federal government bars us from removing the items we will abide by their rules.

What-You-Need-to-Know-About-Household-Hazardous-Waste-Junk-King-Marin-CAWhat is Household Hazardous Waste?

Household hazardous waste is often referred to as “home generated special materials” materials or “retail hazardous waste”. This broad term includes an array of consumer products that have the potential to harm the environment if disposed of in an improper manner. It also includes household chemicals, pest control sprays and automotive care products. Each of these products has dangerous characteristics as a result of their ignitability, reactivity, toxicity or corrosivity. Other common examples of household hazardous waste include oil paint, latex paint, drain cleaner, fuel, antifreeze, motor oil, herbicides, poisons, pesticides, cleaning chemicals and rodenticides.

How to Dispose of the Household Hazardous Waste That Junk King is not Allowed to Take

Do your best to keep hazardous waste items in their original containers until you can find an appropriate location for their proper disposal. Read the label of each potentially hazardous item to gain a full understanding of the manufacturer’s recommended disposal instructions. Even if the label simply directs you to bring the item to a specific recycling site or warns of improper handling procedures, it is still worth reading. These directions will help you avoid injury and prevent unnecessary environmental harm. Do not combine your leftover hazardous waste with other products. Some household hazardous waste items like fluorescent lamps and batteries can be brought back to the retail stores where they were purchased.

Junk King is Here to Help

If you are unsure as to whether one of your household items is eligible to be picked up by our junk hauling crew, do not hesitate to reach out to us for more information. Our junk removal experts will let you know if we can pick up those items or if they are considered to be household hazardous waste that must be disposed of in a special manner or location. As long as the federal government permits us to pick up the item and it is not dangerous to handle, we will haul it away. Reach out to us today for more information by dialing 1-888-888-JUNK (5865) or by filling out our convenient online contact form.

Four Tips for Better Waste Management

Waste management is a pretty broad field that covers everything from the collection and transportation of waste to the disposal of garbage, sewage, and various waste products.

Why is Waste Management Important? 

Because waste management covers so much ground, the safe handling of waste materials, proper upkeep of junk removal vehicles, and ensuring that garbage dumps are compliant with state statues and federal environmental regulations, the field is increasingly complicated and always expanding.

When waste management is done right it helps protects human health, contributes to energy conservation and ensures resources aren’t wasted, and lowers the overall amount of waste generated by communities around the country. With all these benefits in mind, here are four tips to help you do your part and make better waste management choices: 

Four Tips for Better Waste Management  

Although household waste and industrial waste are handled in completely different ways, a lot of the same principles and overarching goals apply: The name of the game is keeping you and the environment safe. Just in terms of waste transportation, this means making sure your garbage winds up at landfills that fit local codes, doesn’t enter the municipal water system, and receives proper treatment.

Four-Tips-for-Better-Waste-Management-Junk-King-Marin-CA

  • First Tip: Know What’s Dangerous 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regularly puts out Waste Classification Guidelines to help homeowners and businesses make informed waste management decisions. One of the things that the Waste Classification Guidelines helpfully do is differentiate hazardous waste from general solid waste, which is produced by most households.

To ensure that your garbage ends up at the right location and doesn’t threaten the environment make sure that you aren’t accidentally mixing in hazardous waste like lead-acid batteries, fertilizers or certain paints with your general trash. Anything that you throw away that might contain asbestos is categorized by the EPA as special waste, and it should be disposed of accordingly so that it doesn’t become an environment or public health concern.

  • Second Tip: Separate Biodegradable from Non-Biodegradable Waste 

Biodegradable waste can be broken down to methane via anaerobic digestion within a few months or even a couple of weeks. Most municipal solid waste (a.k.a., residential trash) like food and paper waste are biodegradable.

What you want to look out for is non-biodegradable waste that can’t be broken down – things like car tires or hazardous waste like batteries, motor oil, certain paints and pesticides. Learn about disposal of non-biodegradable waste in the link below.

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/disposal-nonbiodegradable-waste-79582.html

  • Third Tip: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle 

Because one of waste management’s goals is preserving our natural resources, everyone should consider reducing their carbon footprint and recycling things like aluminum cans, paper products and certain plastics.

https://www.wm.com/thinkgreen/what-can-i-recycle.jsp

Avoiding goods that are over-packaged and making more of an effort to purchase durable products can help us all reduce the amount of waste that winds up at landfills, and eventually needs to be treated; waste treatment, unfortunately, isn’t carbon neutral.

Another easy way to reduce is to bring your own cloth grocery bags to the store to avoid the waste of plastic ones.

Buying more durable products also touches on the other R – reuse – since things like ceramic mugs can be reused. You might also consider donating your outdated laptop so that it can be reused by someone less fortunate.

  • Fourth Tip: Have Your Yard Waste Professionally Removed 

We actually shouldn’t be including clothes, ceramic materials or yard waste in our recycling materials, according to the folks at Waste Management. To ensure that you’re not harming the environment and to clear the way for a cleaner home, contact Junk King-Marin and save big when you book online.

 

 

Laws on the Disposal of Chemical Waste

If you’ve been keeping up with the news you know all about the recent spill along the Colorado River. This is definitely a teachable lesson and a reminder that the responsibility of disposing of chemical waste is a shared one.

What is Chemical Waste Anyway? 

Chemical waste – sometimes called industrial waste – is waste produced by mixing potentially harmful chemicals together. Various chemical solvents, paints, paper products and heavy metals might all be classified as chemical waste by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In fact, the regulation of chemical waste is a joint effort between the Environmental Protection Agency, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as well as state and local governments. This makes sense in light of the fact that different states have different liabilities – as the example above with the Colorado River, unfortunately, illustrates.

It might surprise you to hear that OSHA is also involved in the oversight of chemical waste, but that also makes sense given that a lot of chemical waste is produced in commercial factories. As an example, a paint mixing facility or pharmaceutical lab might have to deal with an OSHA regulator and comply with local regulations as well.

Chemical Waste and Hazardous Waste 

There’s even more strict regulation when it comes to chemical waste that’s also hazardous waste – mainly because, if left unattended to and unregulated, hazardous waste poses a greater environmental and public health threat.

Now, going back to those venn diagrams in high school, we could say that all hazardous waste is chemical waste but that not all chemical waste is hazardous waste. If, however, chemical waste is hazardous waste then it has the following properties: toxicity, reactivity, corrosively and ignitability.

  • Hazardous Waste

Just from the sound of some of these words – ignitability, reactivity, etc. – you can get a sense of why responsibly disposing of these kinds of industrial byproducts is to the public good, and maybe good for your blood pressure numbers too.

In fact, a lot of chemical waste can’t even be recycled. Instead it will be, in the case of glassware from labs, stowed in plastic-protected boxes and deposited at a landfill. Because of the increased threat posed by hazardous waste, the EPA has urged state regulators to create their own hazardous waste disposal programs.

Although it doesn’t necessarily make for intriguing beach reading, you can find more about how hazardous waste like PCBs and dioxins are categorized and regulated, both federally and locally, here. There are even rules that states need to follow for safe disposal in landfills – found here.

  • Medical Waste

Another area in which sensitivity is definitely the order of the day is with medical waste. With medical waste, or other kinds of potentially hazardous waste, the waste is collected from clinics, hospitals and laboratories, then processed. Processing usually means that the waste is burned in an incinerator, made inert through chemistry, preserved in formalin or heavily disinfected with bleach.

  • Universal Waste

The EPA also regulates chemical waste that it’s categorized as universal waste. Universal waste are household items like batteries and lightbulbs as well as mercury-containing electronics and certain pesticides you may have sitting around.

You can find the EPA’s more comprehensive list of standards for universal waste management here, and discover more about how federal legislation interacts with your state’s regulations on chemical waste here.

The fact is that disposing of universal waste is everyone’s responsibility since universal waste comes from materials that are commonly sold and widely available in retail stores – hence the name universal waste.

Contact Junk-King Marin today if you need universal, e-waste safely disposed.

 

What You Need to Know About Household Hazardous Waste

What You Need to Know About Household Hazardous Waste Junk King MarinThe Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010 exposed the dangers of industrial hazardous waste. That said, many people still don’t know all the facts about household hazardous waste lurking in and around their homes. Here’s what you need to know:

Facts about Household Hazardous Waste 

Household hazardous waste, if you’re like the average American, is accumulating in your home as you read this blog.

Scope of the Problem 

That’s because most people have a collective one hundred pounds or more of hazardous waste in their garages, sheds, closets and basements. This is a big problem and it’s not going away without a fight.

In fact, Americans generate upwards of 1.5 million tons of household hazardous waste annually, and that number is growing as more waste sources are identified and the population continues to grow.

So where the heck does this waste come from and why is it so harmful – hazardous, if you will – for the people who ignore the problem and the environment that suffers the consequences?

Sources of Household Hazardous Waste 

The answer is that household hazardous waste, as you may have guessed based on where it resides in the home (garages, closets, etc.), takes the form of household cleaners, battery acid, wall paint and common pesticides.

Car batteries and automative fluids can also accumulate in garages over time and pose significant health risk and environmental dangers.

As with most problems, though, the first step you can take to combat the problem is to identify the problem in the first place: forewarned is forearmed.

Identifying Household Hazardous Waste 

People are probably already most familiar with the skull-and-crossbones symbol denoting poisonous (a.k.a., toxic) materials. These could include household cleaners that also happen to be a household hazardous waste source.

Household hazardous waste may also be labelled as flammable, corrosive or reactive (see symbols in link below).

  • Flammable

Flammable hazardous waste (e.g., paint thinner or gasoline) is really a double whammy for homeowners in terms of liability – it ignites easily and burns rapidly.

This means that you’ll want to have any product labelled with the flammable hazardous waste symbol quickly disposed of and kept away from heaters and other fire sources around your home.

  • Corrosive

Corrosive hazardous waste might be the scariest type of household hazardous waste on this list because this type of hazardous waste has the potential to do some real damage if it comes into contact with your skin.

That’s because the “corrosive” part of corrosive household hazardous waste means that this type of waste can cause your skin to literally disintegrate. If that’s not scary enough, corrosive hazardous waste (e.g., bleach and battery acid) can also eat away at storage materials or part of your home as well.

Consider safely disposing corrosive household hazardous waste right away. Corrosive hazardous waste might be lurking in your yard, garage or storage closet right now so it’s important to deal with the problem before it gets out of hand.

  • Reactive

Reactive, or explosive, household hazardous waste is usually labelled in a way that sometimes throws people off – it shows a chemical reaction or explosion outward. Compared to the skull-and-crossbones symbol this is harder to quickly take in.

The dangers of reactive household hazardous waste, though, are very real. Reactive household hazardous waste can come in the form of any product that mixes bleach and ammonia in a way that could trigger a chemical reaction.

  • Toxic

Toxic, also known as poisonous, household hazardous waste comes in the form of pesticides and expired medicines. Having these around your home could be dangerous. Contact Jung King-Marin to get it handled today.

 

Junk King Marin
851 Irwin St. #214
San Rafael, CA 94901
Hours: M-Sa: 8A-4P

Providing junk removal services to the Marin area, including:

Amer Cyn
Angwin
Corte Madera
Fairfax
Kentfield
Larkspur
Mill Valley
Monte Rio
Napa
Novato
Petaluma
Rohnert Park
San Anselmo
San Quentin
San Rafael
Santa Rosa
Sausalito
Vallejo
and these nearby zip codes:
94503, 94508, 94558, 94559, 94581, 94589, 94590, 94591, 94592, 94901, 94903, 94904, 94912, 94913, 94914, 94915, 94925, 94926, 94927, 94928, 94930, 94939, 94941, 94942, 94945, 94947, 94948, 94949, 94952, 94953, 94954, 94955, 94960, 94964, 94965, 94966, 94974, 94975, 94976, 94977, 94978, 94979, 94998, 94999, 95401, 95402, 95403, 95404, 95405, 95406, 95407, 95409, 95462, 95486