Most people dispose of hazardous products by throwing them in the trash, pouring them down the drain, burning them, pouring them in a ditch, dumping them on a vacant lot, or burying them in a field. These practices are dangerous. Waste from hazardous products can contaminate lakes, rivers, streams, and ground water.  Often only a small amount of hazardous materials can cause serious problems. It only takes one gallon of oil to ruin one million gallons of water.

Thrown in the Garbage?
Whatever you throw in your trash ends up getting picked up by the garbage man and taken to a landfill. Most landfills are not designed for hazardous household wastes. These wastes can leak into water supplies and/or cause air pollution. Hazardous household waste may cause a fire or explosion, or give off dangerous fumes. Sanitation workers have been seriously burned, lost their eyesight, or suffered lung damage while compacting hazardous materials. Equipment has also been damaged.

Poured Down the Drain?
When you pour hazardous household products down the sink or flush them down the toilet the hazardous materials enter either a septic system or a municipal sewer system. If you have a septic system, wastewater from your home goes into a tank buried underground. The solids settle out and partially decompose. The remaining wastewater then goes into a drain field where the natural, ongoing processes in the soil help to further break down the wastewater. Toxic materials in that wastewater can kill the helpful bacteria and the system will not operate properly. Some toxic materials move through the soil untreated or unchanged. When this happens groundwater or surface waters may become contaminated. For example, many paint removers and aerosol paint products contain the chemical methylene chloride. This chemical can pass directly through a septic system without breaking down at all. Chlorine bleach can also pass through a septic system without breaking down. Also the chlorine can react with organic matter to form new toxic chemicals.

If your home is connected to a municipal sewage system, wastewater is piped to a central sewage plant. After treatment, it is discharged into area rivers, lakes, and streams. Most municipal systems rely on bacteria or other organisms to decompose the waste. Some hazardous household waste can pass through the system unchanged and thus pollute the water downstream. In addition, hazardous household wastes poured down the drain may corrode the plumbing or collect in the trap and release fumes through the drains.

Poured in Ditches, Storm Drains, or Gutters?
If you pour hazardous household waste in ditches, storm drains, or gutters, it can poison plants and wildlife, contaminate the soil, and harm children and adults who come in contact with it. When it rains, the hazardous household waste travels directly to nearby streams, rivers, and lakes.

Burned?
If you burn hazardous household waste, you risk producing poisonous fumes, contributing to air pollution, or causing an explosion. Controlled burning in special hazardous waste incinerators by trained professionals can be a good disposal method; open burning by an untrained homeowner is not. Some hazardous materials may not burn away completely and become concentrated in the ash; others can pollute the air.

Dumped or Buried?
If you dump or bury some types of hazardous household waste, they may leach through the soil and contaminate the soil or water, especially if the waste is persistent or non-biodegradable. Children, pets, and wildlife may be exposed to such hazardous waste. Dogs frequently are poisoned by drinking antifreeze left on roads or driveways.

A number of problems can occur when we discard hazardous household waste using common disposal methods. Recommendations for proper disposal will depend on both the particular type of waste and the waste disposal options available in your community.  Local ordinances vary. Landfills may or may not accept certain hazardous household products. They also may vary on how they want the product to arrive at the landfill. For example, one landfill may want you to solidify (air-dry) paint and wrap the container. Another landfill may want paint handled a different way. In addition, waste water treatment plants may not allow certain liquids to be poured down the drain. If you have any questions, call your landfill, local waste water treatment company, local waste management office.

A great site to find out where and how to dispose of hazardous and toxic materials: Earth911

To avoid having toxic waste to dispose of you should 1) purchase a natural alternative 2) buy only the amount needed so there will not be extra and 3)  save the extra product and use when needed again.