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Doing an inventory of the household hazardous products around your home can help you protect your family's health, reduce your impact on the environment, and save you and your community money!

What Is a Household Hazardous Product?
Household hazardous products are products that can present a health or environmental threat when used, stored, or thrown away improperly. When a household hazardous product is no longer usable or wanted, it becomes a household hazardous waste.

Products are considered hazardous if they are:

* Flammable
* Corrosive
* Toxic
* Reactive

Flammable products can easily catch fire and support a flame. Toxic products are poisonous or can be harmful or fatal if swallowed, breathed in, or absorbed through the skin. Corrosive products can burn skin or corrode other materials. Reactive products can explode or produce a toxic gas if combined with other substances (e.g., mixing chlorine bleach and ammonia produces a toxic gas).

Drain Cleaner

How Do I Know What Is Hazardous?
The best way to learn what is hazardous is to read the product label. Labels on hazardous products contain SIGNAL WORDS, which tell how hazardous the product is. Signal words represent the hazard of a product, not its proper disposal. Until further regulations are developed, using signal words is the best method to use in determining the hazard level of a product, and its potential impact when thrown away.

Signal words and what they mean:
Most Hazardous Poison: highly toxic
Arrow Danger: extremely hazardous
Warning: moderately hazardous
Caution: mildly/moderately hazardous
Least Hazardous No Signal Word: The product is probably not hazardous. However, the product may be too old-if produced before 1987-to have a signal word, even if it is hazardous.
If you are buying a product, it's usually best to buy one with no signal words or the lowest level signal word.

Household hazardous products can include:

* gasoline
* motor oil
* antifreeze
* lead-acid batteries
* paint
* paint strippers
* adhesives
* wood preservatives
* pesticides
* some household cleaners
* aerosol cans
* solvents
* batteries

Paint Cans

General Actions to Take
This inventory lists actions you should take when buying, using, storing, and disposing of household hazardous products. Check off the actions YOU generally take. Total your points at the end to see how successful you are at managing household hazardous products.

Shopping for Household Hazardous Products
____ Ask yourself if you really need a product before you buy it.
____ Use up existing products before you buy new ones.
____ Borrow leftover products from friends or neighbors.
____ Use the least toxic product to do a job (this could be a commercial product).
Use the smallest amount of a product possible.
____ Buy products with no signal words or the lowest level signal word.
____ Buy one general-purpose product rather than many specific products.
____ Buy pump sprays, creams, or solids instead of aerosols. The packaging, not the
product, is the problem at this time, because of disposal problems with
aerosols.
____ Purchase toys or appliances that don't require batteries or use rechargeable
batteries.

Using Household Hazardous Products
____ Use products out of reach of children and pets.
____ Read and follow safety precautions on all labels.
____ Use products in well-ventilated areas. Keep lids on as much as possible during
use. Secure lids carefully after use.
____ Use only the recommended amount of product for the job.
____ Use protective goggles, gloves, etc. if recommended on the label.
____ NEVER mix products containing chlorine with those containing ammonia. READ
LABELS CAREFULLY.
____ Use all of the product up, whenever possible. Use only according to directions.

Storing Household Hazardous Products
____ Store chemicals out of reach of children and pets.
____ Store leaky containers in another leakproof container. Be sure to label this new
container.
____ Store products in their original container with labels intact.
____ Never mix chemicals together.
____ Keep all products away from sources of heat or flame.
____ Store latex paint, latex driveway sealer, water-based products, and liquid
pesticides where they won't freeze.
____ Store products that warn of vapors or fumes in well-ventilated areas.
____ Store products in a dry place (moisture makes containers rust and leak).
____ If containers are leaking, place in a leakproof container and relabel.

Disposing of Household Hazardous Products
____ Use up products so you don't have any wastes. Do not use banned or restricted
products.

Check with your county solid waste officer for a list of these products.
____ Share leftover products with others. DO NOT SHARE PESTICIDES.
____ Don't mix different household hazardous wastes before disposing of them in some
way.
____ Recycle all products that you can (i.e., motor oil, fuel oils, and batteries) at
appropriate recycling centers.
____ Take products to a designated household hazardous waste collection site.
____ Safely dispose of products that don't need to be taken to a collection site
(e.g., dry out latex paint before disposing of it in the garbage).

____ Total Score (total number of checks here)

If you checked off... You're...
More than 25 Actions Awesome
20-25 Actions Doing a great job
15-20 Actions Well on your way
10-15 Actions Starting off right
5-10 Actions Behind the times
0-5 Actions Get started today!

I will do the following three new actions on my home inventory list in the next two weeks....

1.
2.
3.
4.

Every action you take helps protect your health, the environment, and your pocketbook!

Cleaners

For More Information...

For more information on properly shopping for, using, storing, and disposing of household hazardous products, contact your county extension agent, your county solid waste officer, or the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Household Hazardous Waste Program at: (612) 296-6300 or toll-free (800) 657-3864.

These organizations have the following fact sheets available on household hazardous products.

General Fact Sheets:

* Household Chemicals & the Environment
* Using & Storing Household Chemicals
* Household Chemical Labels
* Alternatives to Hazardous Household Products
* Facts about Household Hazardous Waste
* Household Hazardous Waste Disposal
* Household Chemical Safety Inventory

Waste Specific Fact Sheets:

* Adhesive Products
* Products in Aerosol Cans
* Used Antifreeze
* Household Fluorescent Lights
* Gasoline
* Household Cleaners
* Used Motor Vehicle Batteries
* Latex and Oil-based Paint
* Personal-Care Products
* Household Pesticides
* Cordless Electric Appliances/Rechargeable Batteries
* Household Solvents
* Used Motor Oil
* Wood Preservatives
* Managing Used Mercury Thermostats
* Disposing of Household "Sharps"