Green Spring Cleaning: Where to Dispose of Problem Items

As nature invites the fresh greens of spring, give your home a little "green" cleaning. Properly dispose of chemicals, technology and other hazardous home materials to conduct your spring cleaning tradition in an eco-friendly manner.

Chemicals


Switch to all natural versions of household cleaners to limit your carbon footprint on the environment as well as the amounts of chemicals ingested by your family. Companies like Nature's Source are teaming up with familiar brands like Scrubbing Bubbles, Windex and Shout to provide biodegradable, plant-based cleaning agents. Use all-natural remedies to save money as well. Citrus oils made a big splash on the market in cleaning, but the same effects can be achieved by using straight lemon and orange juices. Try slicing a lemon in half and scrubbing the fruit over your counters to lift stubborn stains. If you have leftovers of the harsher chemicals, and don't want to continue using them, you may pour small amounts down the drain. These chemicals were designed to be safely drained into residential septic systems in small amounts. If you must buy harsher chemicals in the future, buy the smallest one possible.

Outdated/Broken Technology


Technology poses a new hazard to a our environment because many devices use chemicals or metals like arsenic, lead, and cadmium. All of these can pollute our water supplies if dumped into landfills. Before throwing away any form of technology (cell phones, pagers, iPods, MP3 players, calculators, etc.) check to see if it still works. Many charities like Healing Abuse Working for a Change (HAWC) or the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence will give your outdated cell phone to a victim of abuse for emergencies. Similar organizations also equip senior citizens with cell phones for 911 contacts. By law, any working cell phone, even without paid minutes or a cell plan, must be able to connect to 911. Give unused calculators to your local public schools. Other working technology may be donated to charity thrift sales.

If your technological devices are beyond hope, track down a local recycling deposit. Many technology retailers like Best Buy offer drop boxes for printer cartridges, cell phones and other devices inside the stores.

Clear out those obselete stacks of floppy disks leftover from the 90s by recycling them through GreenDisk,Inc. This company will refurbish usable disks when possible and break down unusable ones into their basic elements to be recycled individually.

Try to repair scratched DVDs and CDs before tossing them. Use toothpaste to gently buff out the scratches. Unwanted, but usable, discs can be traded at music stores for discounts on new discs or donated to organizations like Goodwill. Otherwise, they must be recycled through a service like Digital Audio Disk Corporation in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Basic Housekeeping


Often we overlook common household waste that can contain toxins. Fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, random children's toys can contain similar toxins to regular technology, and batteries are jam-packed with chemicals and toxins that reek havoc on our environment. Small batteries (like watches and hearing aids) are usually recycled by the retailer when you have it changed. Other hazardous home waste should be recycled through product specific centers or by contacting your local waste management facilities for pick-ups and procedures.