After we had Emily Main of National Geographic's Green Guide on the air, many of you decided it was time to get rid of all of the toxic cleaning supplies in your home. We received many e-mails asking us what is the safest, most environmentally friendly way to dispose of the multiple bottles.
Here's Emily's advice:
"It's usually not a good idea to empty containers down the drain, since such high quantities can cause damage to waterways. The best thing to do is to see if your local household hazardous waste site will take them, and definitely try to get them to take drain openers, toilet cleaners and any other cleaner that may be particularly caustic or acidic. If you've got a powder cleaner, empty that into a plastic bag and recycle the container if you can. Otherwise, it's best just to toss the entire container, contents and all, in the garbage. It may seem irresponsible to throw out a perfectly good recyclable container, but if you empty liquids or gels into the garbage, they may leak out and harm garbage collectors or pose groundwater contamination threats in landfills."
Listen to Emily's interview:
Worried about your kids and pets and all of the crazy chemicals around your house? You should be.