When I was growing up, we had a single garbage can that caught all the detritus of my family’s daily life, from food scraps to furniture. Sometime in the 1990s, a new bin was designated for aluminum cans. Then we started setting aside glass bottles and jars, and eventually we started bundling up our newspapers for recycling, too. Now, the average household has three or more trash receptacles.
Recycling is, of course, important for the environment, but it can feel overwhelming to have multiple bins in the kitchen, unsure where things that defy easy categorization—like old cell phones, compact disc players, or light bulbs—should actually go. Luckily, cities, towns, and even many companies have gotten in on the recycling act, making it easier than ever to dispose of our troublesome trash.
Drugs and Medicine
When my grandmother passed away, she left behind a small garbage bag full of leftover medication that left my family wondering, “Well, what do we do with this?” There are two main reasons not to throw away drugs in the trash. First, children and pets could be harmed if they ingest them, and second, medications dissolve and make their way into the soil and water supply. Also, never flush unwanted meds down the toilet, because most municipal water filters don’t fully remove them.
If you take unwanted, unused, or expired medications to a pharmacy, most pharmacists will send them back to the distributor or incinerate them. They often appreciate the opportunity to dispose properly of things like powerful painkillers or sedatives. Often, doctors’ offices are also willing to accept medications for safe disposal. If all else fails, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy recommends mixing crushed pills with some sort of unpleasant household waste—coffee grounds, used kitty litter, a full vacuum cleaner bag—and seal them in a leak proof bag before putting them in the regular trash. This increases the chance that the drugs won’t end up in the water supply or in the wrong hands.
Energy-Saving Light Bulbs
We’ve come a long way from the days of old incandescent light bulbs. Today, energy-saving halogen, fluorescent, and HID (high-intensity discharge) bulbs are on the rise for home and commercial use, but they contain mercury, and shouldn’t be put in the regular trash. According to the EPA, about 670 million mercury-containing bulbs are discarded this way each year, meaning that mercury ends up in landfills, contaminating the soil and groundwater. Even though they only contain about 1/100th as much mercury as a thermometer, they need to be treated like hazardous waste. Home Depot stores accept mercury-containing bulbs for recycling, no matter where you purchased them.
