Household Hazardous Wastes

These solid or liquid materials and gas containers have outlived their usefulness and could harm people or the environment, without special handling and treatment in how they are discarded. They can be flammable, corrosive, explosive or toxic and because of these dangerous characteristics should not be sent to the landfill or emptied into sewer systems.

Household hazardous products in Canada display one or more of the following symbols:

	Flammable - burn easily (painting wastes, degreasers, and other solvents).
	Corrosive - eat away surfaces and skin (rust removers, alkaline cleaning fluids and old batteries).
	Reactive/Explosive - react violently when mixed with other chemicals, under pressure or heat (aerosols).
	Toxic/Poison - poison or cause damage to living organisms (materials containing heavy metals like mercury, lead or cadmium).

When a product displaying one or more of the warning symbols is discarded (after considering reuse possibilities), it should be disposed of properly.

See also:

Saving the World Begins at Home