If you are purging your home, there are some surprising items in kitchens and bathrooms that I was surprised to learn are hazardous waste. These liquids should not be poured down the drain or go into the garbage bin, with or without their containers:

• cooking oil
• shampoo and lotions
• nail polish
• shoe polish

Please don’t send your household hazardous waste to landfill or into our waterways when you can make the “Drop”. Orange Drop is a simple service that accepts all those toxic materials which most of us don’t know how to properly dispose of… but that cannot be thrown in the garbage.

There are drop-off locations throughout Toronto and Ontario. Visit makethedrop.ca, type in your postal code and you will get a list of the nearby drop-off options.

As their slogan says, “together we can help”.