Refreshed classrooms, new faces, different teachers: The start of each school year brings a lot of change and much to learn. 

Whether you’re a student, teacher, or parent looking over the upcoming year’s lesson plans, this hazardous waste back-to-school guide will give you a leg up on learning how to protect your health and the environment from hazardous exposures.

Language arts

A class to improve your reading and writing abilities, you can expect haz waste-style language arts to help you in a few key areas.

• Learn to read product labels while shopping: When shopping for household products, it’s safer to read the label and choose the least hazardous products available. Through the safer home products page, you can learn how to read labels and buy products that won’t expose you to hazardous materials as you clean your home.
• Understand key hazardous waste acronyms and icons: Every industry has its own vocabulary and lingo. Get to know these commonly used ones below. 
  • HHW: Household hazardous waste
  • SQGs: Small quantity generators
  • PFAS: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
  • EPA: Environmental Protection Agency

Geography and social studies

• Locations of hazardous waste disposal sites: From year-round collection facilities in King County to traveling Wastemobile events that run from February to October each year, there are plenty of places in our region to help you safely dispose your hazardous waste. Find out where at the Haz Waste Program’s website. 
• Connections between hazardous materials and health outcomes in our region: In recent years, community members worked with researchers at the Washington Department of Health to assess and map environmental health disparities in Washington state. This work became the Washington Environmental Health Disparities map, an interactive tool that compares communities around Washington based on their environmental health burdens, such as exposure to toxic emissions and chemicals of concern.

Math

• Quantity acceptance limits for many common products: When disposing hazardous waste at a drop-off facility or traveling Wastemobile event, there are often specific amounts and limits that you must pay attention to before dropping anything off. Find the guidelines around specific products through the hazardous waste product library.
• Businesses’ eligibility requirements for hazardous waste disposal: Businesses are also able to bring hazardous waste to one of the Program’s collection facilities, but they must follow slightly different eligibility rules than individuals. What does that mean? Determining if a business is eligible for free hazardous waste drop-off relies on key waste-related metrics. Learn more about business eligibility for hazardous waste disposal. 

Science

• Hazardous waste’s impact on ecosystems: From the air to our region’s waterways to the dirt beneath our feet, hazardous waste enters our environment through many different sources. Explore those sources and how they are connected.
• Disposal of lab chemicals: Whether you’re a chemistry teacher or a student curious about what happens to your science classes’ chemicals, our Program can help support you in safely disposing lab chemicals and the approval process. Reach out to haz.waste@kingcounty.gov for more information. 

History

• The history of environmental justice movements in the United States: Environmental justice is Black history, and you can get to know the roles that Black activists played in what is now known as the environmental justice movement today.
• What historical sediments can tell us about the effectiveness of human regulation of hazardous waste: A recent study of mud at the bottom of Lake Washington illustrates the role that human intervention and policies can play in reducing hazardous waste’s impact in our regional environment.