• Sewage treatment plants do not treat most HHW put down the drain. Those that are treated are only treated by chance since the system was not constructed for this purpose. As a result, many of these wastes end up in rivers and lakes, contaminating our drinking water.
• Septic systems are prone to failure if HHW are disposed of in them. People on septic systems need to be very careful what they dispose of in their system since tile beds discharges can pollute neighboring soil and groundwater wells.
• HHW put down the drain corrodes the plumbing system and affects sewage treatment equipment.

Putting it in the garbage:

• Local landfills are not designed to handle HHW. These wastes further contaminate landfill leachate that may eventually migrate off site, polluting soil and groundwater as well.
• Chemicals from HHW can also react in garbage trucks leading to fire or damaging equipment.

Burning it in your wood stove:

• Burning HHW is also problematic because it contains hazardous components. These hazardous components will add to air pollution and fallout of toxic substances onto land and water.