Skip to main content
Presented By MailChimp
This advertising content was produced in collaboration between Vox Creative and our sponsor, without involvement from Vox Media editorial staff.
MailChimp

We produce 13 tons of hazardous waste every second

Why some companies are finding new routes for dangerous household chemicals.

by Vox Creative

In most homes across the country, you’ll find a stash of chemical cleaners in the same spot — under a sink. As soon as we’re done using our household chemicals, they technically become hazardous waste. And the products that don’t make it to our cabinets, because retailers often get rid of sticky, dented, and forgotten bottles? They become hazardous waste too. In fact, we produce 400 million tons of hazardous waste across the globe each year. That’s like one garbage truck filled to the brim, every second of every day.

Hazardous wastes are just as scary as their name implies. Each has complex chemical compounds that make them effective in your day-to-day, but they make them just as dangerous when you or your local retailer throw them out. Hazardous waste is categorized as corrosive, reactive, flammable, or toxic.

  • Corrosive: These products can chemically change and destroy skin and even metal. The phosphoric acid found in bathroom cleaner is just one example.
  • Reactive: These chemicals are ticking clocks, prone to explosion and the release of harmful fumes. Be careful with the zinc phosphides in some rodenticides.
  • Flammable: These household items catch on fire at high temperatures — 140°F for liquids. The butane in hairspray and acetone in nail polish are your usual offenders.
  • Toxic: These chemicals, like the methylene chloride in paint stripper, can send you to the hospital — or worse.

We don’t want hazardous waste to infiltrate our environments or our bodies. But typical disposal routes have hurt animals, communities, and the ozone layer. That’s why companies like Smarter Sorting have turned to recycling products instead of incinerating them, so they move cradle-to-cradle rather than cradle-to-grave. Watch the video above to learn how.