Assemblyman Michael J. Fitzpatrick District Office 50 Route 111, Suite 202 Smithtown, NY 11787 (631) 724-2929 Albany Office Room 544 LOB Albany, NY 12248 (518) 455-5021 E-Mail fitzpam@assembly.state.ny.us

Dear Friend,

Where do hazardous wastes come from?

Most people, when asked this question, will think of smoke-belching factories and storage yards where rusting 55-gallon drums leak chemicals into the ground. But industry isn’t the only producer of wastes that do serious harm to our environment.

Ordinary household products can also threaten the environment. For example, when household hazardous wastes like motor oil are disposed of carelessly, they contaminate soil and drinking water supplies. In the past, because of the public’s lack of awareness, these wastes were thrown out with ordinary household trash. When disposed of in landfills or burned in incinerators, these toxic products can contaminate our groundwater and air.

That attitude has been changing, however. State governments across the country are moving to eliminate the most harmful substances from the waste stream. Recent efforts to handle waste oil and car batteries are examples here in New York.

There is movement at the local level, too. As communities continue to face the challenges of managing solid waste, some are realizing that they might as well make the investment to deal with household hazardous wastes today rather than pay the price for the pollution problems they’ll cause tomorrow. However, more widespread efforts are needed if we are to keep the local environment from going down the drain.

For more information on household hazardous waste, contact the State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Household Hazardous Waste Hotline at 1-800-462-6553.

Household hazardous wastes are chemicals and compounds that pose the same environmental threat as industrial waste. Because of their chemical makeup, many can be harmful to people and animals as well. Here’s a short list of some of the most common types:

• pesticides
• cosmetics and medicines
• household cleansers and bleach
• paints and stains
• motor oil and other auto fluids

To combat the problem, I have supported funding from the State’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) for costs related to local household hazardous waste collection and disposal programs. These programs provide ways for residents to dispose of household hazardous wastes separately from other trash, and serve to educate residents as to which household products are dangerous to the environment, and how they should be disposed of properly.

Many folks don’t know which chemicals harm the environment and which don’t. With this fund-ing, local governments are better able to inform their residents about what they can do, just as they are doing now through their school and advertising campaigns with recycling.

Many hazardous wastes cannot be landfilled or incinerated, because they hold the potential of contaminating groundwater, soil and air. The EPF helps support costs related to separating household hazardous wastes from the general waste stream and either disposed of, like other hazardous wastes, or recycled.

Much of these wastes can be disposed of safely and even reused if a person knows where it’s supposed to go. Together, we can educate people, and provide them with safe disposal methods.