The Chancellor Disposal Center of the Spotsylvania County Landfill System will be holding a "Hazardous Material Disposal Day" on Saturday, October 14, 2000 from 8:00 A.M. until 4:00 P.M.  These days it seems they do this about twice a year.  You may bring old paint, thinners, pesticides, etc. for proper disposal The cost is free to residents of the County.  I believe most places offer these types of services nowadays.  A simple phone call is well worth your while to "go do the right thing".  Nobody will even fuss at you, it's a civic duty.

    We should all know the common safety practices of household chemical storage with regard to toddlers.  However, do you know not to let chemicals freeze or overheat?  What do you do with a spill?  When something is old and won't flow from the bottle, what then do you do?  These are important issues often receiving no thought.

    Extreme temperatures can breakdown the integrity of chemical compounds causing them to become less effective, phytotoxic (toxic to the plant), and so forth.  The net result is that you have a compound in which you lack the confidence to use.  Now you're running your own "Toxic Waste Disposal Site".  You may not wind up on the Super Fund, but it's a concern.

    Spills.  Not in the plans.  Years ago we had to close the store for the last half of the day and evacuate because an employee accidentally dropped a case of glass bottled insecticide, breaking four containers.  The placed was instantly fumigated.

    Large chemical companies or lawn care people have specialized showers with catch basins, but my home has none.  What do the companies do with the catch basin contents?  I bet their plan is more detailed than yours or mine.  Do you have a plan?  The best advice I can give a homeowner is to keep a large bag of clay based Kitty Litter available and in close proximity of the chemical storage area.  In the event of a spill,  immediately cover and arrest the spilled compound.  Sweep the material up and tightly seal in two or three layers of plastic trash bags.  Call your local landfill for advice on the next step.  Be sure to retain the name of the chemical for identification to aid in the disposal process.

    You can accumulate multiple containers of the same product or multiple products with the same
fuunction.  Not only does this create an environmental problem, it is expensive and unnecessary.  The click here for our Pesticide Inventory Sheet which we have been passing out for years.  Take it with you when shopping.  Any good store will admire your list, even if it kills a sale.  We hope you can use this in good health.