How to get rid of harmful chemicals in our homes is a quandry that we have all had!
Whether it be poisonous pesticides, paint products, cans of gasoline, solvents or things as simple as soaps and dish detergents, they all have an impact on our environment, our fresh water and our future.
How can we reduce our dependence on household chemicals, how can we use the ones that we do need, more responsibly? Those are the questions that we need to answer. Should we buy them in the first place? or should we look for organic alternatives?
It’s your choice!
Recently the Permaculture Institute of Australia published the following blog; titled “Declare your independence from the chemical companies – Get rid of the chemicals today!”
I liked this post because it primarily is dealing with Garden issues. It only makes sense to be as organic as possible when it comes to tending to your home garden and to the health of your soils. Here is what this blog post outlines as the proper way to reduce/remove chemicals from your garden!
Get rid of your Chemicals. Grow Organic!
The Steps:
- Commit to never using anything that isn’t organic on your garden ever again. Eventually you can even work on phasing the organic chemicals out.
- Remove all of your toxic garden chemicals from your shed and/or garage.
- Dispose of your chemicals properly. Do not pour any pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, or any other garden chemicals down the drain, into storm drains, or put them into the trash. Be responsible and dispose of them correctly. Consult your local municipality for disposal options or just do a simple Google search.
- Think about why you actually were using garden chemicals in the first place?
– Did you just buy them because you saw an ad and thought that you needed these chemicals to have a successful garden? Psst… you don’t need them. If you don’t believe me go look at that forest or meadow by your house – no chemicals there. So ignore the ads that you see on Hulu and vote with your dollar. Choose not to buy garden chemicals.
– Do you have some serious pest issues in the garden? If so, then why? Ask why. Don’t just default to a spray? Is something wrong with your soil? Odds are this is the problem. Great soil usually doesn’t require any chemical unless you are… growing a defacto monoculture? But that is none of us right? Are you attracting beneficial insects? Etc, etc, etc.. The key is in taking the time to think about “Why?” Why are you seeing the problem that you are seeing? What is the underlying cause? - Start to expect success, not failure in the garden.
The steps accomplish two things:
- They get rid of the chemicals now.
- And then they start putting you in the mindset to never need them again.
So do the steps, and expect success in the garden.
Read the full article at the following site!
Don’t add hazardous materials into the environment!
The Town of Payson holds a Recycle your Hazardous Materials Waste Day! Do your part in removing chemicals from our environment!
Get rid of your Chemicals on July 27, 2013.
Contact the Payson Town Hall for details 928-474-5242 or check online; read about it at the following link!
http://www.paysonaz.gov/Departments/water/Payson_HHW.pdf
This is one time where you don’t have to worry about where your harmful chemicals are going. This is one time you don’t have to worry about whether or not these chemicals are being recycled into your water supply or into your soil! The only problem with this program is that they don’t do it often enough…
If your community doesn’t hold such a recycling/disposal program tell them you want them to!
Does your garage look like this?
Transition Town Payson 