Facts and Figures about waste and recycling

Proper Disposal of Smoke Detectors

The most common type of smoke detector contains a small amount of Americium 241, a radioactive material. On your wall this presents little threat. When broken open in an incinerator or landfill, the material can pose a health hazard. For this reason all detectors must, by law, be labeled as to radioactive content. Detector companies accept returned radioactive detectors for disposal as hazardous waste. Unfortunately the companies seem to assume you'll keep the instruction booklet on hand for the entire life of the product, and don't always put good contact information on the case.

Detectors have a limited life span, usually specified at ten years. Testing your detector with actual smoke is the only way to be sure it will work when needed. The vast majority of smoke detectors are made by First Alert Corporation. For additional information, contact: First Alert, Radioactive Waste Disposal, 780 McClure Rd, Aurora, IL 60504-2495, 1-800-323-9005. Others are made by a Canadian firm called American Sensors, dial 1-800-387-4219 for information. The companies sell detectors under many different brand names, and most can dispose of any of them. Send detectors by surface mail or UPS Ground so they don't end up in an airplane. (from Natural Tracks)

Americans on average generate 3.5 pounds of waste each day, producing about 154 million tons of garbage every year - enough to fill the New Orleans Superdome from top to bottom, twice a day, every day. Recycling is the process of returning this waste to raw form to make new products. It benefits individuals, the community and the planet. If each of us recycles a small portion of our waste, we would not only save landfill space but also conserve natural resources, energy and money - and create jobs.

Proper Disposal of Refrigerators and Air Conditioners

Most older refrigeration equipment contains freon, a chemical know as a Chlorinated Fluorocarbon or "CFC" for short. Each molecule of a CFC can destroy over 100,000 molecules of the earth's protective ozone coating, leading to increased risk of sunburn, cataracts and skin cancer for the entire population of the planet (human AND animal).

If you are throwing away an old refrigerator, heat pump or air conditioner please be sure the CFC's are drained out and recycled first. Use only a hauling service that will perform this important task -- call and ask before you let them take your old equipment away. Before having your car's air conditioner serviced, ask what the shop does with the freon. Never allow a leaking refrigeration system to be recharged.