Cleaning Up Toxics At Home; Cleaning Up Toxics In Business

Produced by the League of Women Voters, these two "how-to" guides are aimed at spurring on citizens and small businesses to become environmentally conscious and literally clean up their act. Cleaning Up Toxics at Home begins with a disturbing analogy: namely, the amount of oil thrown away every year in America is equivalent to that of 24 Exxon Valdez supertanker oil spills. Some of the oil is disposed of properly, but most of it is merely tossed into the trash. Host Jan Hutchins points out that in 1980, there was one toxic waste disposal program in America; today there are 2,000. In southern California, several communities have taken great steps in reducing the problem with programs like the "Toxics Round-Up," an all-day drop-off site for consumers to bring their old pesticides, paints, oil, can toxic cleaning liquids. After pointing out these successful programs, the video takes viewers on a tour of dangerous substances found in the home, offers suggestions on carefully reading product labels before making future household cleaning product purchases, and lists safer alternatives (a mild vegetable soap and baking soda, for instance, are used by professional housecleaners who find them cheaper in the long run than commercial products. Cleaning Up Toxics in Business is targeted towards encouraging small businesses to regulate their use of toxic wastes and subsequent disposal. Several types of businesses are profiled: dry cleaners, photo labs, makers of furniture, and pest exterminators among them. Environmental experts discuss the bottom line tradeoffs of switching between various new methods for production, and stress the fact that local governments and chambers of commerce need to be more actively involved in the control of toxics use and maintenance. Although it's still too early to give a prognosis for the future, the fact that many individuals and small business establishments are taking responsibility and coming up with creative ways to handle environmental problems is encouraging. Both of these well-produced programs will help build on this beginning. Highly recommended. (See ORCA: KILLER WHALE OR GENTLE GIANT? for availability.)