Household Waste Disposal - Eco Broker Newsletter

Talking Trash: Helping Your Clients with Household Hazardous Waste Disposal
What is considered “hazardous” when a seller cleans out trash while readying a home for sale? What if a buyer moves into an existing home and finds old paint in the garage? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that Americans generate approximately 1.6 million tons of hazardous waste each year. The National Marketing Institute, which documents growth of consumer trends, shows an increase since 2006 in the numbers of consumers who participated in household hazardous waste (HHW) disposal.
Realtors have an opportunity to provide local information to buyers and sellers about proper disposal of these materials and products. Many buyers and sellers may not be aware of which common household items are considered harmful to living things and the environment. Even if clients know which materials and products are hazardous and they have separated those items from everyday trash, they may not know where to take them. Enter the Realtor.
John Cafasso, a Certified EcoBroker®, works in the Colorado Springs area of Colorado’s El Paso County. Cafasso provides clients with a flyer listing hazardous household items that are accepted for disposal with the address of a site for homeowners in that area. Cafasso said his local board, the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors, was receptive to his recommendation and even posted the flyer on their website’s homepage. “When you go to a listing appointment, provide the client with a flyer,” Cafasso suggests. “We also put the information in an HOA newsletter to reach even more people.” If an item contains volatile chemicals, it is on the EPA’s list of hazardous household waste. Regulation varies by state. The EPA encourages states to develop and run their own hazardous waste programs. Most states base their programs on federal requirements but some states are more stringent than others.The EPA groups all waste into categories then places items on lists based on the ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity and toxicity of each material. Most people suspect that gasoline, pesticides and herbicides make the list, but what about motor oil? Thermostats? Car batteries? Old prescriptions from the medicine cabinet? The EPA website Household Recycling pages provide lots of disposal information and relevant links. Go to www.epa.gov/Region4/recycle/householdrecycling.htm. A good, user-friendly place to start is earth911.org. At the top of their homepage is a banner to enter what type of trash homeowners/buyers have (or just type “household hazardous waste”), along with their ZIP code or City, State. Press GO and a list appears of all HHW disposal sites within 25 miles of that area. As John Cafasso puts it: “If we educate Realtors and homeowners about the household hazardous waste disposal facilities, it will be good for the environment.”