Hazardous Waste

Hazardous waste is a growing concern

According to the Environmental Action Foundation, the environmental impact of the huge amounts of hazardous wastes produced each year has been of increasing national concern...In 1983, 266 million tons of hazardous waste were generated---more than a ton for every person in the United States.

Careless use and disposal threatens life and health

Advanced nations manufacture some 70,000 different chemicals, most of which have not been thoroughly tested. Careless use and disposal of these substances contaminate our food, water, and air, and seriously threaten...the ecosystems on which we depend. 

Chemicals have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. We enjoy the convenience of such chemically-derived products as plastics, detergents, and aerosols, and yet we are often unaware of the hidden price tag associated with them. Eventually they find their way into water and/or the ground by way of landfills, drains, or sewage sludge.

It all comes back to us

Although consumers rarely make the connection between the everyday plastics products and packaging they buy and the growing problem of toxic pollution, many of the chemicals used in the production and processing of plastics are highly toxic...In an EPA ranking of the 20 chemicals whose production generates the most total hazardous waste, five of the top six are chemicals commonly used by the plastics industry.

References: Environmental Action Foundation, Wrapped in Plastic | Coalition for a Global Tomorrow, Citizen's Guide to Global Issues | The Clean Water Action Project, Guide to Hazardous Household Products | The Earth Works Group