Earth Day Tips to clean your house and clean the river

When the weather gets warmer, we often think about how to clean the well and how to clean up the mess that has built up in our homes over the last year. When cleaning it is important to stay safe and to protect our rivers and lakes. When it rains, you can collect and transport the pollution from your yard or driveway to the rivers and lakes of your district. Here are some Clean River Cleanup tips for different parts of your home.

Outdoor cleaning: If you want to clean your grill, windows, platform, or driveway, think about what to send on the street. Storm canals connect to pipelines that lead directly to nearby lakes and rivers. If possible, wash windows or cars to allow soap and dirt to flow onto the lawn and not onto the street and the river.

Home Office: If you have electronic waste (computers, printers, televisions, even keyboards), many of the county's waste treatment facilities will accept them for a small fee (between $ 15 and $ 15). Some electronics stores, such as Best Buy, also recycle your electronic garbage for free. Visit www.bestbuy.com to find locations. Why is it important? It is illegal to deposit electronic waste in ordinary garbage cans. This is because electronic devices, especially those with rechargeable batteries, contain chemicals and heavy metals that can filter and contaminate air and water.

Devices and old tires: Do you have an old refrigerator or air conditioning? You can bring items such as refrigerators, air conditioners, microwaves, and tires directly into your district's waste treatment facilities. Check your County website for a list of acceptable items with prices (usually $ 5 to $ 15), as well as vehicles in our area. We have found many tires in the county's rivers and lakes, so please dispose of them properly. Abandoned tires can cause waste problems and can also serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Garage / Basement: Is it time to clean your garage or basement? Paint, gasoline or paint boxes; CFL lamps; batteries; Cleaners and more can be taken to your district's hazardous waste landfill and recycled free of charge to prevent contamination of groundwater and soil in the Cannon River Basin. Visit the county website for more information.

Bathroom: Do you have any old or old drugs out there? Do not throw her in the bathroom. Wastewater treatment plants do not filter the chemicals that make up our medicines. You may think that drugs have no impact on water quality. But in some areas, researchers are observing changes in fish populations that track small measurable levels of drugs in the water. To eliminate unwanted medicines, you can run a collaborative project to collect old and unused medicines for safe disposal. The boxes are available in most communities, usually in the police or in a medical center. Google Put it in the box for more information.

For more information on what you can do for the cleanest rivers, lakes and drinking water, visit the Cannon River Basin Alliance at www.crwp.net .

We can all do our part to clean our homes and keep our rivers and lakes cleaner this spring!

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