ECO: Spring cleaning your green garage

GARAGE SAFETY

If you have to keep hazardous materials in the garage, follow these rules:

- Store products in original containers with their labels
- Never mix products

- Keep gasoline in an approved container

- Do not store gasoline or volatile solvents near water heaters or other appliances with pilot lights

- Keep flammables away from outlets, electric tools and appliances

- Store all hazards out of reach of children and pets; use a locked cabinet

- Buy containers with child-resistant caps.

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What follows is something akin to a bald barber trying to sell hair restorer to his customers, but here goes:

I once had a garage that was so full of stuff that I never once parked my car in it. My garage etiquette has improved, but I am still challenged by clutter.

However, in a green garage makeover, the point isn't better organization to make room for a vehicle, but getting rid of hazards. More space, for more stuff, and maybe even your car, is the secondary benefit.

"Ninety four per cent of households report there's at least one dangerous item in your garage," says Angela Mikalide of the Home Safety Council. "From lawn-care products to paint to automotive fluids, our homes have about 100 pounds each of household hazardous waste (HHW) lying around, much of it in our garages."

Our "drive-in closets" are jam-packed, no matter how large they are," says Bill West, author of "Your Garagenous Zone". "Twenty per cent of new homes have three-stall garages or more or bigger, but as the volume expands, the availability for clutter does, too."

All of that junk is a headache, and can cause the environment real pain, according to the "Green Guide", published by the National Geographic Society. "Carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from paints, gasoline and solvents sneak into the house from attached garages, posing a risk to those inside. And the more hazards stored at home, the greater the danger that a child or pet might be poisoned or harmed."

Here are National Geographic's recommendations:

MOTOR OIL

One spilled oil change can contaminate a million gallons of fresh water after it washes down your driveway and into storm drains.

How to replace it: Avoid disposing of used oil yourself. Recycle it at a dealership, oil change specialist or repair shop.

ANTIFREEZE

The sweet-tasting but lethal ethylene glycol used in antifreeze if tempting to children and pets. All used antifreeze should be treated as HHW, since it often contaminated with oil and lead.

How to replace it: Propylene glycol-based antifreeze is not lethal, but it can still cause health problems if swallowed. Safest bet: let a mechanic change your antifreeze and handle general car maintenance needs; many have access to recyclers of antifreeze and oil filters that consumers don't.

GASOLENE

Storing gas cans may pose a fire hazard, and is illegal in many condo and apartment complexes. Furthermore, gas-powered mowers produce the same amount of pollution in an hour as a car driving 32 km (20 miles).

How to replace it: Push a fossil-fuel-free reel mower, instead, or consider an electric mower.

FERTILIZER AND PESTICIDE

Conventional varieties of fertilizer and plant food run off lawns into waterways, where they cause algae blooms and threaten fish and other aquatic life.

How to replace it: Look for certified organic products. To avoid runoff, use sparingly.

Exposure to household pesticide is linked to asthma, cancer and neurological damage. Pesticide was responsible for more than 50,000 poisonings of children in North America in 2005.

How to replace it: Ask your sanitation department about disposal. For ants, use less-toxic alternatives, such as those containing borax. For rodents, try a humane trap.

PAINT

Don't keep old paints, which slowly release cancer-causing and neurotoxic gases.

How to replace it: Check for drop-off-sites. Never pour paint down the drain. When buying, look for low-VOC varieties.

OTHER HHW

Propane and butane tanks, car batteries, brake fluid and adhesives are some of the most common hazardous items we bury in the garage. Take them to you nearest HHW collection site.

(prepared by Don Townson/Vancouver Sun)