SWINE FLU INFORMATION
Please visit www.eastmetrohealth.com for links,current updates and resources regarding the Swine Flu. Please pass this on to your friends and relatives. The East Metro Health Department can also be contacted directly at 770 339 4260.
Managing Household Hazardous Waste
Wondering what to do with those half-empty cans left over from your last house painting project? Concerned about the unfinished containers of toxic cleaners and solvents sitting in your shed, but not sure what to do with them? HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTES are products containing hazardous substances that are used and disposed of by individual homeowners (rather than industrial businesses). Examples include paints, solvents, batteries, automobile fluids, herbicides, and pesticides. How you choose to handle your household hazardous wastes has a big impact on the health and safety of your home, your community, and the environment. In particular, proper disposal of HHW helps safeguard the health of our local rivers, lakes, streams, and groundwater.
Here are a few tips for handling your HHW: Do not pour it down the household drain, throw it out with your regular garbage, pour it into ditches, storm drains, or gutters, dump, bury, or burn it. Do use it up or give the product to someone else who can use it, and avoid buying hazardous products in the future (or find safer alternatives – for example, less toxic cleaning products).
To learn more about reducing, recycling, and disposing of
HHW, visit the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) website: http://www.dca.state.ga.us/development/EnvironmentalManagement. You can also find more information about HHW at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Sustainability Division: www.gasustainability.org. For tips on reducing, recycling, and disposing of HHW in Gwinnett County, contact Gwinnett County Solid Waste Call Center at 770.822.7141 or gcsolidwaste@gwinnettcounty.com; visit Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful at www.gwinnettcb.org or call 770.822.5187. Another resource for finding disposal locations is the Earth 911 website: http://earth911.com OR call 1.877.EARTH911.
You can learn more about how to prevent nonpoint source pollution by calling Gwinnett County Stormwater Management at 678.376.6826 or by visiting our website at www.gwinnettstormwater.com. To report instances of pollution, call 678.376.7000 (24 hours). By disposing of HHW properly, you can help protect our local streams and waterways!
Looking for Ways to Conserve Water While Gardening? Join Us for a Free Workshop and Learn How!
Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources, the Clean Water Campaign, and the Gwinnett Cooperative Extension Service will present a Xeriscaping workshop on August 6, 2009, at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center. Robert Brannen, director of the Gwinnett Cooperative Extension Service, will teach methods to cultivate a beautiful garden with minimal water use.
Xeriscaping combines the words xeros (Greek for "dry") and “landscaping” to describe creative ways of taking care of your landscape using less water. Summertime is when water consumption reaches a peak for most households, mainly due to outdoor water use. Utilizing methods such as soil analysis, the selection of appropriate plants, and efficient irrigation, you can reduce the amount of water used for gardening. Such techniques can even lessen the need for pesticides and fertilizers, reducing chemicals in runoff (to the benefit of local streams, lakes, and rivers).
This event will be held in the Auditorium at 7:00 p.m. Arrive a few minutes early to sign in. For more information, or to register, please send an e-mail to the Stormwater Management Division at dwrswreg@gwinnettcounty.com with your name, address, and telephone number, or call 678.376.7126.
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