There’s a pep in our step these days because it’s officially springtime. With increasing sunshine and warmth, you might be looking at your yard with visions of a lush garden or lawn. Don’t let noxious weeds put a damper on your goals. Before you turn to chemical products, try safer alternatives that keep people and the environment safe from hazardous exposure.
There’s a pep in our step these days because it’s officially springtime. With increasing sunshine and warmth, you might be looking at your yard with visions of a lush garden or lawn. Don’t let noxious weeds put a damper on your goals. Before you turn to chemical products, try safer alternatives that keep people and the environment safe from hazardous exposure.
In recent months, several companies announced plans to eliminate PFAS (also known as forever chemicals) from their food packaging. State and local governments are also looking at this issue. Washington has enacted a bill that will phase-out PFAS in food packaging as soon as safer alternatives are available.
A woman’s TikTok videos went viral after she applied Gorilla Glue, a heavy-duty adhesive, to her hair and couldn’t get it out after months of trying. People had a good laugh thinking about using glue in place of hairspray. But, even if you just use regular gel to make sure your hair is laid, it’s still a good reminder for all to double-check what’s in your bathroom cabinets. Even better, read the label before you buy.
King County seniors (65 years or older) and residents with disabilities who don’t have a vehicle or cannot access a collection site can call to schedule a free at-home pickup of hazardous waste. The pickup will follow strict Public Health guidelines from Seattle & King County to protect our workers and customers. Please visit our home collection page for more details including COVID-19 safety protocols.
In January, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered Amazon to stop selling illegal pesticides on its website. Between 2013 and 2018, the EPA claimed that Amazon had over 4,000 products that violated these rules. The illegal pesticide problem has decreased in recent years, but it has not disappeared. Amazon removed the illegal products from its site, but the EPA is warning shoppers that other online retailers are still selling them.
The Auburn Wastemobile will be closed this weekend, February 13-14, due to forecasted winter weather including accumulating snow and icy conditions. Winter weather can make traveling to the Wastemobile dangerous for customers and staff.
Common hazardous products stored in homes, garages, and storage sheds—like oil-based paint, motor oil, and chemical cleaners can be left behind after a fire. Since these hazardous wastes can pose significant risk to human and environmental health, especially when not properly contained due to fire damage, they must be cleaned up before efforts to rebuild can begin.
The Wastemobile, King County’s traveling household hazardous waste drop-off service, kicks off its 2021 season in Bothell, WA. Between February and October, the Wastemobile will visit 14 rural and suburban cities in King County. Residents and small businesses can safely drop off their household hazardous waste such as as oil-based paint, batteries, antifreeze, pesticides to the Wastemobile at no cost.
In December, the EPA released a risk evaluation report that opens the door for national regulations on perchloroethylene, a common dry cleaning chemical. Although there are alternatives to PERC that are safer, PERC is still the most used dry cleaning solvent in the United States and worldwide. The Haz Waste Program has worked to limit PERC use for over 25 years. Our research on the local industry was heavily cited in the EPA’s risk evaluation for PERC.
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