Many materials and their containers should be properly disposed of (not in trash which is incinerated): aerosol cleaners and sprays, oven and drain cleaners, anti-freeze, oil-based paint, brake and transmission fluids, motor oil, herbicides, bug sprays, poisons, pool chemicals, batteries, fluorescent tubes and bulbs.
Environmental education, action, and advocacy
Reduce household and school chemicals, use substitutes and alternatives; for information:
Contact: Ecological Health Organization, P.O. Box 281116, East Hartford, CT 06128.
Contact: Environment and Human Health, Inc. (203-248-6582). Booklets: “Pest Control Practices in CT Public Schools” and “Survey of Private Drinking Water Wells for Lawn and Tree Care Pesticides in a CT Town”.
Send for “Pest Control in the School Environment: Adopting Integrated Pest Management”, from: EPA Public Information Center, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460.
Read: “About Hazardous Products in the Home”, CT DEP, Waste Management Bureau/Recycling, 79 Elm St., Hartford, 06106. Call: 860-424-3365.
Contact: Endometriosis Association, 203-757-1525
Reduce your use of lawn, garden and agricultural chemicals. Sources of help/ideas:
See enclosed pamphlets, “The New American Lawn” from The Garden Club of America and “Ten Tips on Gardening Without Pesticides” from the Connecticut Fund for the Environment.
“Organic Land Care” from NOFA of Connecticut (203-484-2445)
Contact University of Connecticut Coop Extension Service for information/workshops on Integrated Pest Management, nutrient management, and groundwater protection.
Reduce toxics in business, hospitals, and industry; contact:
To recycle fluorescent bulbs and tubes: Northeast Lamp Recycling, 250 Main St., East Windsor, Ct 06088, (860-292-1992), or, contact DEP (860-424-3365).
Toxics Use Reduction Institute, University of Massachusetts Lowell, 1 University Ave., Lowell, MA 01854.
“Health Care Without Harm”, c/o CCHW Center for Health, Environment and Justice, PO Box 6808, Falls Church, VA 22040. (703-237-2249). http://www.sustain.org/hcwh
Local or statewide business and industry associations, environmental consulting companies, state agencies and departments.
Tour a regional recycling center to better understand volume of wastes, processing, energy use, need for waste/source reduction and more reusable. Plan a project for home, parish, or school.
Mid-Connecticut Project Regional Recycling and Visitors Center, Hartford. Call 860-247-4280.
Children’s Garbage Museum and Education Center, Stratford. Call 800-455-9571.
Energy Use: conserve to reduce pollution and save money:
Do an “energy audit” of home, church and school. Materials available from Interfaith Coalition on Energy (borrow from OUA 203-777-7279) and Energy Star Congregation Guide (888-STAR YES)
Replace incandescent light bulbs with long-lasting, energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs; be sure to recycle properly to keep mercury out of the environment. (See above)
Choose an electricity supplier which is committed to increasing its percentage of “green”, renewable, non-fossil fuel sources of energy. Ask about it.
Buy energy-efficient appliances and automobiles, which will produce much less pollution over their lifetime. Check ratings on appliance or see Consumer Reports at your library.
Advocacy
For information and advocacy in Connecticut:
· Join the Action for Justice Network, which informs Catholics in Connecticut how to advocate for state and federal policies which protect child health and basic needs. Contact Graziella Zinn, OUA, 203-777-7279
· Attend a DEP Community Environmental Justice Advisory Board. Call 860-424-3044.
· Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice, 860-548-1133.
· Toxics Action Center, 860-233-7623.
· Get the Lead Out! Coalition (860-947-2204) in Hartford.
For national information, research, and advocacy, contact:
Children’s Environmental Health Network, http://www.cehn.org
Physicians for Social Responsibility, 1101 Fourteenth Street, NW, Washington DC 20005. (202 898-0150, http://www.psr.org
National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice (773-728-8400), www.nicwj.org
St. Francis, Respecting Life and Children's Environmental Health
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