HHW and Living Green

Tips for Facebook and other media

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE MESSAGES

Use homemade cleaning supplies

Common household materials such as baking soda, vinegar, or plant-based soaps and detergents can often complete your cleaning job as well as more toxic options. Making the change to non-toxic or homemade cleaners will not only make your homes safe, it may also save you money.
First, gather the basic supplies from your grocery or hardware store:
baking soda
Borax
Lemon or lime juice
Vegetable oil
Washing soda
White vinegar
Non-scratch scrubber sponge
Then, try your first recipe! Here is an all-purpose cleaner:
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tsp. borax
3 1/2 cups hot water
20 drops lemon or lavender essential oil
1/4 cup liquid dish soap
Instructions: In a 32-ounce spray bottle mix the vinegar, borax and water thoroughly. Add essential oil if desired. Add the dish soap last.
Additional recipes are available at:
Have fun and don't forget the elbow grease!

Proper paint storage and disposal for fall clean-up

Clear clutter! It’s time to clean up your storage areas and make more room. In 2006, 580,500 gallons of excess paint were collected at Minnesota’s household hazardous waste (HHW) sites, making it the number one waste stream. Here are tips on proper storage, disposal and reduction of paint:

  • Do not allow paint to freeze. Store in a dry area at a temperature above 40° F.
  • Keep leftover paint in the original container, with a tight lid on it.
  • Store products in a well ventilated area away from flames, sparks or heat sources. In addition, paints contain volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) which can off gas in your storage areas.
  • Do not throw liquid paint in the garbage or down the drain.

It is OK to throw away empty paint cans. If there is less than 1 inch left, let it dry in a well ventilated area before disposal.

Take these unwanted or unusable products to your local Household Hazardous Waste Facility.

Buy only what you need to reduce waste (from RethinkRecycling.com):

  • Carefully measure the space to be painted.
  • Determine how many coats of paint are needed. See the can label for information.
  • Calculate how much paint to buy using this handy on-line paint calculator.

You can also use this rule of thumb: purchase 1 gallon of paint for every 400 square feet of area to paint. Ask your paint retailer for additional help.

Need free paint?
All household hazardous waste facilities offer paint in their free product reuse area.
Buy local recycled content latex paint!
Ever wonder where your paint goes after dropping it off at the HHW facility? Some of it is recycled to create paint that has the same quality standards as new paint. A gallon of recycled content paint in place of a gallon of virgin paint saves about 115 pounds of CO2 emissions. Purchase recycled latex paint to conserve resources, save energy, reduce pollution, and reduce landfill waste.

Replace your mercury thermometer

With flu season upon us, many people will be using fever thermometers. To avoid spilled mercury from broken fever thermometers, you should replace all the mercury thermometers in your home with digital thermometers. Do not throw away your mercury thermometers! Take them to your local household hazardous waste facility for proper disposal. Also check with your local household hazardous waste facility to see if they offer a thermometer exchange.
While mercury spills in the home almost always can be cleaned up so that they do not pose a danger, the vapor given off from spilled mercury is a neurotoxin that can be health threatening if it is inhaled at a high enough concentration or over a long period.
For information on cleaning up a mercury spill, see the MPCA fact sheet, “Cleaning up spilled mercury in the home" (PDF). If you break a fluorescent light, see the “Fluorescent Light Bulbs: Use Them, Recycle Them” (PDF) fact sheet.

Make homemade face paint

Do your Halloween plans include face paint? Read the Food and Drug Administration's advice for using face paint safely. You might also have fun making nontoxic face paint at home! These recipes use common household ingredients.
First, make a base out of unscented lotion, pure cocoa butter, or a mild toothpaste (avoid mint flavors, as they can make skin tingly). Then, add the following ingredients for color.
Even though these are made with food ingredients, make sure your kids don’t eat them because of the base! Also test a small patch of skin first to make sure your child isn’t allergic to the food you’re using.

Yellow: Add 1/4 tsp. of stale turmeric to base.

Pink: Using a sieve, mash the juice from 3 fresh or thawed frozen raspberries, blackberries or beets directly into the base. Or, use a deeply colored berry juice or puree.

Mint green: With a fork, mash 1/4 of a small avocado until creamy. Mix this into your base.

Purple: Using a sieve, mash the juice from several fresh or frozen blueberries into the base.

Brown: Add cocoa powder or chocolate sauce to base.

White: Mix powdered sugar and water.

You may not have these ingredients at home, but for bright green and black (some of the scariest colors!) look for squid ink (black) and spirulina or bright green chlorophyll (green) to add to the base.

SPRING SEASON MESSAGES

Plant a tree

Trees should be planted from April to mid-June. Before the heat of summer is here, think about a place for a new tree. Trees benefit our environment and our communities. A tree will:
» Remove CO2 and pollutants from the air
» Catch and absorb rainwater
» Reduce the amount of energy used for heating and cooling
» Increase property values
» Reduce noise
» Keep asphalt and air temperatures cool
You can learn how and what to plant in Minnesota at

Check for water leaks

The red circle to the left of the dial will spin if you have a leak.

A leak in your house can waste hundreds of gallons of water. You'll also be paying for water that you aren't even using! Here is how to find out if you have a leak at your house:
Turn all water-using appliances off so that no water is being used. This means turning off all water inside and outside the house including showers, sinks, washing machines and any appliance that uses water.
Find your water meter and watch it. Your meter will have a red or black round disc that is commonly called a “leak indicator.” If it is spinning, you have a leak.
Toilets are a common source of water leaks. To check a toilet for a leak, flush the toilet and while the reservoir is still filling, add 2 or 3 drops of food coloring to the water in the reservoir. Wait 15-30 minutes. If the water in the bowl changes colors, the flapper valve needs to be replaced. You can buy a new flapper, with installation instructions, at your local hardware store.

Install a rain barrel

Rain barrels come in many styles and colors. This recycled oak wine barrel, made by Barrel Depot, is on display at the Eco Experience.

Rain barrels collect and store rain water for future use. By collecting water from your roof, you will:

  • Reduce runoff and erosion
  • Reduce water consumption
  • Allow more rain water to soak in to the ground over time
  • Reduce strain on urban sewer systems

See how to install a rain barrel at or simply do an internet search on the topic.

Choosing or using a compost bin

Ready to compost? So you have made the decision to start composting, and now need to decide if you want to build a bin or buy one. There are various designs for building your own, and plenty that can be purchased for backyard use. Either way, it is great way to take your kitchen scraps and create a mixture that can be used in the garden soil. Below are some sites to start researching bins, along with information on how the composting process works.
Containers. You can compost in a simple pile, but using a container or bin helps your compost pile retain heat and moisture and look neat. To get started, it's easy to go with a single bin system. As materials are added and mixed together, the finished compost settles to the bottom of the bin.
Materials. Bins can be built from scrap lumber, old pallets, snow fence, chicken wire, or concrete blocks. Typically, several types of composting bins are sold at hardware or lawn and garden stores.
Size. A pile that is 1 cubic yard (3 feet high, 3 feet wide, 3 feet long) is big enough to retain heat and moisture, but small enough be easily turned. Home compost piles shouldn't be larger than 5' x 5' x 5'.

Examples of bins and instructions to build your own will be at the Eco Experience at the Minnesota State Fair, August 27th to September 7th. Happy Composting!

Learn the basics

Video: How to compost

Types of manufactured bins
Ideas for building your own bin

SUMMER SEASON MESSAGES

Get the lead out this fishing season

Lead, a toxic metal found in many sinkers and jigs, can poison wildlife. Keep your fishing outings safe for both you and wildlife by using the following tips:

Inexpensive and ecologically sound alternatives to lead fishing weights are available. Anglers should use sinkers and jigs made from non-hazardous materials such as steel, tin and bismuth.

Never throw old fishing gear into the water or shore. Bring them to your local household hazardous waste collection site during your next visit:

Never put a lead sinker in your mouth or bite down on slip shot—use a pair of pliers instead!

Always wash your hands thoroughly after handling lead sinkers or cleaning out your tackle box.

Talk to your favorite retailers and ask them to stock non-lead fishing tackle.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has partnered with Recycled Fish, a non-profit angling group, to offer a kit that contains lead-alternative sinkers and biodegradable lures, as well as hooks and other supplies:
More information about nontoxic tackle is available on the MPCA’s Get the Lead Out! website:

Buy green power

What is green power?

Green power is electricity generated from renewable, high-efficiency, or low-pollution energy sources, such as wind or solar energy. It's clean, it's simple to sign up, and it's available to all Minnesotans!
Buying green power helps our health, environment, and economy in the following ways:

Helps prevent acid rain by reducing sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions.

Reduces mercury emissions from power plants, which significantly contribute to fish consumption warnings.

Helps keep our air clean by reducing small particulates and several other unhealthy emissions.

Significantly reduces carbon dioxide, the primary contributor to global warming.

Improves Minnesota's economy, especially in rural parts of the state where farmers can lease their land for wind development.

Creates additional demand for clean, renewable energy above and beyond any legislative requirements that utilities must meet.

Sign up today!
Contact your electricity provider (information should be on your electric bill) and ask to sign up for their green power program. Minnesota utility customers can buy small amounts of green power, for as little as $1.50 per month, or buy up to 100% of their electricity usage.
OR visit the Eco Experience building at the 2009 MN State Fair where utility forms to sign up on the spot will be provided, along with a chance to talk to an expert and learn more about the program. More information about Green Power available at
The Green-e Energy Program certifies that Windsource meets the minimum environmental and consumer protection standards established by the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions. For more information on Green-e Energy certification requirements, call 1-888-63-GREEN.

Reduce food waste

Buying the proper amount of food and eating food before it spoils will save you money. It will also reduce energy use, water use, and green house gas emissions.
Unfortunately, we waste a lot of food. In fact, a recent study of food waste in the United States estimated that 1,400 calories of food per person is wasted every day. This is up from 900 calories in 1974.
What does this wasted food mean for the environment?
Our wasted calories– 1,400 calories of food per day per person—represent 39% of the available food supply (read the study here). Because growing and processing food uses significant freshwater and energy resources, wasted food means wasted resources.
There is an impact after the wasted food goes to the landfill, too. Food in a landfill is initially decomposed by aerobic bacteria, as it would be in a backyard compost pile, but after the oxygen has been depleted the remaining waste is broken down by methane-producing anaerobic bacteria. Methane is a green house gas more potent than carbon dioxide. Significant methane production typically begins one or two years after waste disposal in a landfill and continues for 10 to 60 years or longer.
Use all your food – here’s how
Wasting less requires small shifts in the way we plan our meals and store our food. Here are five things you can do to shift towards less waste:

  • Buy proper portions. A website from the UK called Love Food Hate Waste will help calculate portions. Portions are listed in grams, so you’ll need to convert the grams to pounds. There are about 450 grams in a pound, but rather than remember that here’s an online conversion tool:
  • Learn to store your food so that it stays fresh. Most veggies keep longer in a humid environment, such as in a plastic bag or crisp drawer in the refrigerator.
  • Learn recipes for tasty leftover meals. The Love Food Hate Waste website has several recipes that use small amounts of common ingredients. Look for recipes that are flexible and allow you to use whatever vegetable is in the refrigerator.
  • Plan ahead. If you plan your meals in advance, you can buy only what you need at the store. You can cook a meal or two on the weekends when you have time. You’ll be less likely to eat out and let the food in the refrigerator spoil if you know that you have a quick and easy meal waiting at home.
  • Order smaller portions at restaurants. Share an appetizer or a main dish rather than getting more food than you can eat.

What are your ideas for reducing food waste?

FALL SEASON MESSAGES

Battery recycling and disposal

It’s a few weeks before Halloween and you may be thinking about buying batteries for your costume or flashlight. Choose reusable batteries! They can be recharged hundreds of times, saving you money and reducing waste.
Some batteries, including rechargeable batteries, contain toxic metals like mercury, lead, cadmium, and silver, which can contaminate our air and water when the batteries are incinerated or disposed of in a landfill.
It can be confusing to know which batteries to bring to a household hazardous waste facility and which to throw. Here is our advice:

Identify the type of battery. Label information, battery shape, or the packaging information may identify the type. This handout (pdf) has pictures of different battery types.

Single-use carbon-zinc or alkaline batteries purchased after1993 are safe to place in the trash.

All others need to be brought to your local household hazardous waste facility. Look at the Rethink Recycling website for more information about what to throw or recycle.

Before leaving to drop off your batteries at your county household hazardous waste facility call to see if they collect them.

Burn wood wisely

A warm fire in the cold of winter is quite cozy. I even enjoy the smell of wood smoke in the air. Despite my nostalgic sentiments, the reality of wood smoke is less appealing: it contains toxins and harmful microscopic particles that present issues for personal health and air quality.
To reduce smoke emissions from wood-burning appliances, follow these best practices:

Stop burning wood during air pollution health alerts. Sign up for e-mail notification of air quality alerts from the MPCA.

Burn less. If you do not depend on it for heat, burn less often. It is more economical and will reduce air pollution for you and your community.

Only burn clean, dry, seasoned, untreated wood. Burning other materials causes more hazardous air pollutants, and may damage your stove as well as your health.

Maintain your appliance. Make sure all flues, chimneys, and exhaust vent pipes are properly connected, in good condition, and remain unobstructed. Have all combustion appliances cleaned and inspected once a year.