Farm and Home Waste Management
Home*A*Syst Home Worksheet Intro Information Sheet (PDF) Glossary Go To The Worksheet
Farm and Home Waste Management Fact/Worksheet
How will these materials help me to protect my drinking water?
How do I complete the worksheet?
Why should I be concerned?
Consider the variety of products commonly used around the homestead — paints, solvents, oils, cleaners, wood preservatives, batteries, adhesives and pesticides. Also consider the amount of these products which go unused or are thrown away. Some common disposal practices can create an unsafe environment around the home and may contaminate ground water.
Small, unusable amounts are often spilled, buried, dumped, or flushed onto rural property. Improper use of some products may cause toxic health effects. Improper storage may allow chemicals to leak, causing potentially dangerous chemical reactions, toxic health effects, or ground water contamination. Improper disposal can allow chemicals to enter directly into drinking water through surface or ground water.
Your drinking water is least likely to be contaminated by hazardous wastes if you minimize the amounts of these substances you use on your homestead and follow proper disposal practices. Buy only the products you need. Use up, reuse, or recycle products whenever possible. Use, store, and dispose of them properly. Proper disposal practices are essential to avoid contamination that could affect the water supplies and health of your family and neighbors.
The goal of Home*A*Syst is to help you protect the environment and your drinking water.
How will these materials help me to protect my drinking water?
- It will take you step-by-step through your fertilizer storage, handling, and disposal practices.
- It will rank your activities according to how they might affect the ground water that provides your drinking water supply.
- It will provide you with easy-to-understand rankings that will help you analyze the risk level of your fertilizer storage, handling, and disposal practices.
- It will help you determine which of your practices are reasonably safe and effective, and which practices might require some modification to better protect your drinking water.
How do I complete the worksheet?
After reviewing the information provided, select Go To The Worksheet in links at the left. It should take you about 15 to 30 minutes to complete the worksheet and summarize your risk rankings.
Information derived from Home*A*Syst worksheets is intended only to provide general information and recommendations to rural residents regarding their own homestead practices. It is not the intent of this educational program to keep records of individual results.