Yup, it's illegal.

Here is a list of things that are illegal to throw in the trash, and ways to deal with that. Also, there are hazardous things that may not be "illegal" to throw in the trash, but are otherwise toxic and can be recycled. I have become slightly obsessive about the following:

1. Batteries: Recycle them nearby your house. Look at this website to find out where. Near my parents' house, is a fire station that takes them. We keep them in an old yogurt container by the back door. Last time I was there, it was full. I need to put that on my to-do list. In my old house, I had an old milk carton in the garage with the drop-off location written on it (I really think that this is important). Then I made the children do memorization drills to remember to recycle dead batteries. I would do random testing to check their skills. I don't have hard number data on this behavioral intervention, but I think it was an effective exercise.

2. LCD lightbulbs: Seriously. Take them to Lowe's or Home Depot and don't take "No" for an answer. They do recycle them, and you just need to find a person who knows what they're doing. Be kind. These places are huge and one can't expect every employee to know everything.

3. Sharps/Needles/Biowaste?: I have to deal with this because I use a lot of needles. There are mail-back programs that are easy to use. There are also biowaste facilities in some cities where you can just walk in and give them your special red box. You used to be able to use any container as a discarded sharps container as long as you marked it with the skull and crossbones (or marked it clearly, whatever), but that is not longer an option. You cannot throw a sharps container in the regular garbage, no matter how well it's sealed (Note: When I moved, I sealed my sharps box just so I wouldn't have any problems and now I can't reopen it, and it was only half full. Damnit. They're like $10 a piece.).

4. Old/Unused/Expired Medications: Go to this website for information about CVS Pharmacy's mail-back program. Seriously, I always miss the city's day where they let you go to the police station downtown and drop off your expired meds. I miss this day and I miss the free-shred events. Just when I think about it, I look online, and I always find out that it was last weekend.

I did too much today and got anxious. This is my way of putting that anxiety to good use.