Pollution Prevention Tips

Household cleaning products

You don’t need commercially produced cleaning products to clean your home. Some retail cleaning products may be harmful to the wellbeing of your family and your pets. Most commercially produced household cleaning products can be replaced with common safer products found at grocery or home improvement stores. Products used outside your home can find their way into the City’s storm water system and end up in the Halifax or Tomoka Rivers. This impacts aquatic creatures and leads to toxin build up in the fish we eat. Instead of using retail cleansers try these common household products:

Baking soda with water makes an all-purpose cleaner.
Borax removes stains on toilet bowls
Lemons remove greasy fingerprints on windows
Toothpaste cleans silver
Vegetable based liquid soap (like Castile) diluted with water makes an all purpose cleaner
White distilled vinegar diluted with water is an all-purpose cleaner and removes baking soda residue.

Don’t dump unused cleaning products down the drain or in the trash. They may be taken to the Volusia County Landfill at 1990 Tomoka Farms Road. The Volusia County Landfill will take household garbage, yard trash, land clearing and construction debris, household hazardous waste, appliances and (up to 4 car) tires are accepted.

Cigarette Litter is the greatest litter problem in the world.

Cigarette butts constitute over 175 million pounds of trash on an annual basis. Each cigarette butt is toxic and leaches cadmium, lead and arsenic into our ground and surface waters. Check these sites for more statistics on this problem and what you can do to eliminate this stinky, dirty and poisonous problem.

http://nostinkybutts.com/index.html

http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/cigaretteingredients/a/ciglitter.htm

Motor Oil

Used motor oil can be recycled and is a valuable resource. It takes less oil to produce a gallon of re-refined oil that it does to make a gallon from crude. Re-refined oil is used motor oil that undergoes an extensive re-refining process to remove contaminants to produce good-as-new base oil. The main difference between re-refined and virgin oil products is that re-refined represents the responsible choice for the environment. For more information about re-refined oil go to the Department of Environmental Protection’s website at:

http://www.epa.gov/epp/pubs/case/dlaoil.htm

It makes economic, environmental and ethical sense to recycle our oil and oil filters. You can do your part by:

Maintain your vehicles, repair oil leaks from engines and keep the engine in proper condition.

Support businesses the help make oil recycling easy.

Wash your car at car washes that are connected to a treatment system.

Avoid mobile car wash services that allow runoff into the city’s storm water system.

If you wash your car at home, do it in the yard and not on the driveway. This will allow the soil to filter out pollutants, protecting ground and surface water quality.

Recycle your used oil at the City's igloo oil collection sites located at

Daytona Beach Fire Stations

301 Beach Street
126 Botefhur Ave.
945 North Halifax Ave.
1675 Mason Ave.
2020 Beville Ave.
Halifax Harbor Marina
City of Daytona Beach Public Works Complex- 950 Bellevue Ave.
Daytona Beach Golf Club -600 Wilder Blvd.
NW corner of Madison and Washington

Old Heating Oil Tanks

Thousands of rusting, deteriorating home fuel oil tanks have been left in the ground in Volusia County.

These tanks often are filled with 10 to 250 gallons of old heating oil.

One gallon of oil can pollute up to one million gallons of ground water.

Volusia County’s Solid Waste Division will pump out left over heating oil from residential tanks for FREE.

You can help to protect your water supply by calling Volusia County Solid Waste at (386) 257-6021

Electronic Waste Recycling Options

Recycle your old computer or donate it to disabled or economically disadvantaged kids and adults in your community. Dell computer recycling information

Recycle cell phones, print cartridges, batteries and computer hardware at HP computer recycling information

Lead acid batteries, such as those used in automobiles, are another item that has been banned from landfill disposal. By law, retail outlets which supply batteries must accept your old one for recycling. You also may bring the battery to the household hazardous waste facility at the Tomoka Landfill. Some recycling "buy back" centers accept batteries for recycling. Please see "Recycling" in your telephone book listings or contact the County's Recycling and Solid Waste Division at (386) 257-6021.

Gasoline, paints, thinners/solvents, pool chemicals and similar materials cannot be disposed in your garbage because they are harmful to the environment. Volusia County residents may dispose of household hazardous waste at the Household Hazardous Waste Facility at the Tomoka Landfill located at 1900 Tomoka Farms Road.

Paint exchange
The Tomoka Landfill provides a non-commercial paint exchange facility for residents of Volusia. An average of 300 gallons of paint are recycled through this facility each month. This facility provides paint to non-commercial and non-profit organizations as available. Please contact the Tomoka Landfill for more details at (386) 947-2952.

Household Hazardous Waste Amnesty Days
The Recycling and Solid Waste Division offers more convenient locations for the disposal of household hazardous waste during Hazardous Waste Amnesty Days, usually offered in November and April each year. Several "off-landfill" sites are provided throughout the County for residents who don't live close to the permanent collection center at the Tomoka Landfill.

Needles and diabetic-testing strips
The Volusia County Health Department provides a sharps program for users of insulin and other injectable medications.

Residents may drop off needles and diabetic testing strips in approved red sharps containers without charge at these Volusia County Health Department Environmental Health offices:

1845 Holsonback Drive, Daytona Beach (386) 274-0694

Sharps containers can be purchased in the Environmental Health offices. The cost is $3 for a 1.5-quart container, or $5 for an 8-quart container.

Boaters Can Prevent Pollution

Boaters can make a difference that will help protect the environment now and in the future by adopting the following practices:

Limit engine operation at full throttle and eliminate unnecessary idling.

Avoid spilling gasoline and oil when mixing the fuel, pour slowly and smoothly.

Use a gasoline container you can handle easily and is not too heavy.

Transport and store gasoline out of direct sunlight in a cool, dry place.

Maintain your engine on a regular basis.

Fertilizer and Pesticides

Use fertilizer sparingly and as recommended by the manufacturer.

Fertilizer in stormwater runoff contributes to nitrogen pollution which in turn causes algae blooms that depletes oxygen in our surface waters. Oxygen deprivation leads to poor water quality and causes fish kills.

Keep fertilizer 30’ from the shoreline

Use Pesticides responsibly

Avoid blanket applications, spot treat

Choose the least toxic product

Read and follow label directions

Remember there are beneficial insects, let them do the work for you

 Remove Invasive plants

Never prune mangroves or sea oats

Put low maintenance plants between your lawn and the shoreline

Water Efficiently

Use a rain gauge
Install a rain sensor
Use a rain barrel and establish a rain garden
Don't over water your lawn, soggy grass is less likely to survive disease, drought and pests

Yard and Lawn Maintenance

Grass clippings or leaves on roads can end up being washed down storm drains. Grass clippings left on your lawn are a great way of adding nutrients to your lawn and help to retain moisture in the soil. When this organic matter reaches the water, it can reduce oxygen levels. This causes problems for aquatic organisms such as fish and shellfish. Directing rainfall from down spouts onto flowerbeds or grassed areas, rather than paved surfaces, reduces run off and irrigates your yard.

Trash from your yard can be washed down storm drains and entangle animals. However, ingestion is more common and can damage digestive tracts, cause starvation or malnutrition or reduce the animal’s ability to regulate its buoyancy in the water. Pick up trash before you mow your lawn. Marine debris also can become entangled in boat propellers, endangering the boat operator and passengers.

For more information on responsible landscaping tips see Florida Yards & Neighbors at http://fyn.ifas.ufl.edu/

Composting

Composting is nature’s process of recycling decomposed organic materials into a rich soil known as compost. The composting process takes between 6-12 months to complete. The process is not labor intensive, but takes just a few minutes a day. Compositing happens naturally with the support of natural processes. This is a great way to reduce your weekly garbage, dispose of yard clippings and make a wonderful rich organic product for garden soil.

There is no need to purchase special activators or fertilizers to make the materials decompose. Basic tips for composing in your backyard are:

You can start a compost pile any time of year.

Make a freestanding pile no more than 5 feet high or use a bin to keep your pile neat.

Locate the pile in a level, well-drained area, and shady area, Avoid areas over tree roots, near buildings or around wood structures.

Drainage and aeration are important so start with a six inch foundation of branches, twigs or brush.

Use leaves by themselves or mix in grass and other "green" garden trimmings for quicker composting. Use straw and wood chips to avoid odors. Don’t exclusively use grass.

When adding new materials to an existing pile, be sure to mix thoroughly.

Keep the materials moist, but not wet. Moisten add trimmings and leave a concave depression at the top of the pile to capture rainwater.

Never add meat, bones, fat, oils, dairy products or processed foods to avoid odors and pests.

Items to add to your compost pile include:

Non domestic animal manure
Cardboard rolls
Clean paper
Coffee grounds and filters
Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint
Eggshells
Fruits and vegetables
Grass clippings
Hair and fur
Hay and straw
Houseplants
Leaves
Nut shells
Sawdust
Shredded newspaper
Tea bags
Wood chips
Yard trimmings

Aerate the pile every week.

Composting takes from 6-12 months and when it becomes dark brown may be used for your lawn, mulch for trees and shrubs, annuals, herbs, and vegetables.

Or for more information about composting see the EPA’s recommendations at:

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/composting/index.htm

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/FEATURE/backyard/compost.html

Construction Activities

Stormwater runoff from construction activities can have a significant impact on water quality by contributing sediment and other pollutants to the City’s rivers and surface waters. Operators of construction sites must obtain an NPDES stormwater permit and use appropriate pollution prevention techniques to minimize erosion and sedimentation leaving the site. A contractor is responsible to properly manage stormwater on their site to make sure that any water that does leave their site is free of pollutants and sediments. If you observe any stormwater runoff coming from a construction site please contact Utilities Dispatch 24/7 at 386-671-8815.

Runoff from construction sites will eventually make it the City’s stormwater system and into our surface waters.

Education is the key

Learn about the flow of water around your home and business. Water from households typically goes into sewage systems and then into treatment facilities in most communities, where many pollutants are removed.

Water we use outside the house, such as in the garden, washing the car, irrigation of landscaping goes into storm sewers and straight into rivers, lakes and streams.

Examine your habits. Pick up pet waste. This is also a form of water pollution we can prevent.

For more information of pollution prevention see the EPA’s links below and start making a difference.

General information http://www.epa.gov/epahome/community.htm

Site specific information http://www.epa.gov/epahome/commsearch.htm

If you are unsure where to properly disposal of the waste, contact the City’s Solid Waste Division at (386) 671-8670 or http://www.ci.daytona-beach.fl.us/cityhall/pw/gar_info.htm or the County’s Solid Waste Division at (386)947-2952 or http://volusia.org/recycle/tomoka.htm

More Pollution prevention tips may be found at:

The FDEP Stormwater web page http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/stormwater/npdes/

Volusia County Environmental Management web page http://volusia.org/environmental/