How to Make Your Home Safe for the River

The products we buy and use have impacts that reach far beyond our homes and gardens. The creation, use and disposal of products can damage water quality and put the health of fish and other wildlife at risk. Carefully consider the environmental impact of ALL your purchases. Here are a few that are particularly important in your yard and around you home:

Buy and use “environmentally friendly” products, which are less resource-intensive to make and less harmful when used. Many stores now carry environmentally friendly products, and they can also be found in catalogs.

Reduce pesticide use. Pesticides are the only substances intentionally introduced into our environment to kill living things. They can be dangerous to people, pets and wildlife. If your do use pesticides or fertilizers, use them only as directed on the package. Using more than directed does not benefit plants and increases the chemicals washed downstream when it rains.'

For information on non-toxic pest control, contact the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) at (541) 344-5044.

Buy organic. By supporting farmers who use sustainable or organic practices you are reducing pesticide use. Look for the new USDA organic label or eco-labels like The Food Alliance, Salmon Safe or LIVE (for wine). If your grocer does not carry sustainably grown or organic products, suggest it. To find out more about sustainable food and organics check out these links: The Food Alliance, www.thefoodalliance.org Salmon Safe, www.salmonsafe.org

Start a compost pile. Composting yard and kitchen scraps keeps waste out of landfills, and provides a safer source of nutrients for your garden. For information on composting, look in the gardening section at a library or bookstore.

Only buy as much as you need when you shop for paint, strong cleaning products, pesticides and other chemicals. Leftovers can cause health and environmental hazards.

If you do have leftovers of paint, pesticides or other chemicals, dispose of them safely. Dumping chemicals down the drain is not a safe option. Throwing full bottles into the garbage is dangerous as well.

If you have a septic system, treat it with care. Chemicals dumped down the drain interfere with the septic system's ability to process waste. Also, septic systems must be pumped every 3-5 years. Failure to have a septic tank pumped can cause messy, stinky overflows that contaminate ground water.

Buy unbleached paper products. The chlorine bleaching process at many paper mills releases a highly toxic chemical called dioxin into the rivers.