Household hazardous waste is a huge problem in the Yukon, says Bryan Levia, Waste Management Coordinator for Yukon Renewable Resources.

Yukon households generate about 56 tonnes of hazardous wastes a year, according to the Renewable Resources Department's estimate. Other estimates put the amount even higher. That includes products like drain cleaner, paint, aerosol cans, stain remover, swimming pool chemicals, and batteries.

Only one to two percent of household hazardous waste is caught through special hazardous waste collection programs, Levia says, and even collecting that small amount costs about $8,000 a year.

That means tonnes of corrosive, flammable, toxic, and reactive products are going straight to the territory's sewage systems, landfills, and dumps every year.

"It's almost impossible to clear household hazardous waste out of a landfill," says Levia, "so we have to stop it before it gets there."

Since the cost of disposing of household hazardous wastes is typically many times the cost of producing them, the only economic solution is to reduce the demand for them and the amount produced.

"Once it's already waste, it's a nightmare to manage," Levia says.

Convincing people to buy fewer hazardous materials, and to use everything they buy, will reduce the amount that has to be disposed of. If you have left-over paint, Levia suggests, pass it on to a neighbour. If you buy drain cleaner, use all of it rather than throwing away the container with a small amount left in the bottom.

In many cases, non-hazardous alternatives are available or can be made. Baking soda makes a good scouring powder, for example, and borax will disinfect the toilet bowl. A list of non-hazardous alternative household cleansers is available from Raven Recycling.

Industry is starting to take responsibility for some hazardous products, Levia says. For example, the manufacturers of nickel-cadmium batteries are developing a reclaim and recycle program that will allow people to return expired batteries for recycling. The nickel and cadmium will be retrieved and used in the manufacture of new batteries, reducing the need for new supplies of a non-renewable resource.

The best solution to the household hazardous waste problem is education, convincing people to change their practices, Levia says. It is much like the successful campaign to convince people to use seatbelts in vehicles, he says.

As part of its effort to educate people, the Yukon government has teamed up with the City of Whitehorse and Raven Recycling Society to develop a household inventory program aimed at hazardous wastes. The program has received approval in principle under the federal Action 21 program, which could provide part of the funding.

The household inventory project will assist 500 households to identify and label their hazardous wastes and to dispose of them safely. The purpose is to raise the level of awareness of household hazardous wastes in a core group, which will pass on that knowledge and awareness to other households.

Collecting and disposing of the household hazardous wastes generated annually in the Yukon would cost close to half a million dollars a year, Levia says. Since that is far more than the territory can afford, the only practical answer to the problem of household hazardous wastes is this kind of individual awareness and individual action.

For more information about household hazardous wastes and alternatives to hazardous materials, contact the Waste Management Co-ordinator, Yukon Renewable Resources, at 667-3634, or Raven Recycling Society in Whitehorse at 667-7269.