Press Release - Monday, April 14, 2008
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Illinois EPA encourages Illinoisans to think green when they clean
SPRINGFIELD - After months of snow, sleet, ice and cold weather, it's almost that time of year to open the windows, take a breath of fresh air and clean your way to a greener home. Illinois EPA Director Doug Scott urges people throughout Illinois to think green when spring cleaning by using eco-friendly cleaning products and disposing of potentially hazardous waste properly.
"Spring is typically a time when people clean their homes to prepare for the warm summer season. Being green is more important than ever and these eco-friendly suggestions are an opportunity to adopt a greener lifestyle, while helping to keep chemicals out of the waste stream and groundwater," said Director Scott.
Household cleansers and other products make indoor air in the typical home two to five times more polluted than the air outside. And, while many store bought cleaning products have reduced toxins and are made with natural ingredients, homemade cleaning products are also a very economical option and use items that people already have at home.
Some more environmentally friendly green cleaning alternatives, which may reduce the need to use the other products as often, are easily made from products in the home. Some eco-friendly products include:
- Drain Cleaner: Pour separately: ¼ c. baking soda, ¼ c. salt and ½ c. vinegar and then follow with hot water
- Furniture Polish: Use lemon oil or olive oil
- Glass Cleaner: Use vinegar and water in equal parts or use cornstarch and water
- Oven Cleaners; Place salt on spills; spot clean with baking soda and soapy water using steel wool or other scrub pads
- Scouring Powders: Use baking soda and water and a scrub pad
- Ant Control: Use molasses or honey in a lid (put outdoors on the ant trail).
- Fertilizer: Use coffee grounds or compost material
- Copper Cleaner: Use vinegar and salt on a damp sponge
- Air Freshener: Simmer citrus fruit & cinnamon in water
- Houseplant Bug Spray: Put the plant in the sink with a small amount of mild dish soap (not the disinfectant type) and 1" or so of water - splash on the leaves and soil
- Laundry Detergent: Use baking soda and liquid soap on a wet cloth to spot clean
- Flea Repellent: Use cedar chips in the pet's bedding and use Brewer's yeast in their food
Another way to think green while you clean is to find a new life for items piled up in the garage or basement that you no longer need. Each spring, tons of unwanted items are sent to our local landfills, but there are many other ways prevent potentially harmful waste from being dumped.
This year, the Illinois EPA is offering 10 household hazardous waste (HHW) collection events scheduled to be held across the state, starting Saturday, April 12. The collections give citizens the opportunity to safely dispose of unused or leftover household products commonly found in homes, basements and garages statewide. The materials are handled in an environmentally sound manner, diverting them from local area landfills.
"The program is beneficial not only to citizens who are able to get potentially harmful chemicals out of their homes that have been stored all year but, it also benefits the environment by keeping those chemicals out of landfills through various treatment technologies and recycling," said Director Scott.
The program, which began in 1989, has already served nearly 390,000 households. Since the program's inception, almost 440 one-day events have been held, and over 76,000 fifty-five gallon drums of toxic materials have been collected from Illinois citizens.
Citizens are encouraged to bring, oil-based paints, thinners, chemical cleaners, old medicines, antifreeze, motor oil, gasoline, kerosene, weed killers, insecticides, pesticides, adhesives, hobby chemicals, household batteries and similar products. Fluorescent and other high-intensity discharge lamps may also be brought to the collections. The public is encouraged to find alternative uses for latex paint since it is not considered hazardous.
The Illinois EPA will also collect unused and unwanted pharmaceuticals to prevent them from being flushed down the drain and ending up in a water source that may ultimately become a drinking water supply. Studies have linked hormone exposure to reproductive defects in fish, and environmental exposure to antibiotics can lead to the development of drug-resistant germs.
Residents are also encouraged to bring mercury and mercury containing products such as fever thermometers, old thermostats and elemental mercury, as part of an initiative by Gov. Blagojevich and the Illinois EPA to reduce the amount of this hazardous material in our environment.
Items not accepted include explosives, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, medical waste, sharps, agricultural chemicals and all business wastes. Propane tanks and lead acid auto batteries cannot be accepted at most of the events, but should be taken to local recyclers.
For a schedule and more information on the HHW Collection, please visit Illinois EPA website: http://www.epa.state.il.us/land/hazardous-waste/household-haz-waste/hhwc-schedule.html
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