Toxic avenger

6/8/10 Eight-year-old (at least) gallon of antifreeze, given away

Now that I've done it, I wonder if I've learned a lesson. I've certainly developed some opinions about how to make the whole mess better for people in the future.

I'm talking, Dear Readers, about the troublesome build-up of toxic chemicals in our basements and garages.

I've written several times in the past about the problems of all the paint, oil and other chemicals that collected at my place. It's taken me nine months, but somehow I have finally managed to get rid of every dripping, rusting, sticky, dangerous can, canister, and container of toxicity.

The last gallon was one of the easiest. I asked Terry, our school custodian, if he had ideas of how I could dispose of an unopened but very old bottle of antifreeze.

"I'll take it for some of my old clunkers," he said. Ah, Terry to the rescue.

What I now realize is that I need to be much more thoughtful about purchasing and using these chemicals in the first place so that I never again find myself in the position of having to deal with them.

I also have a modest proposal, Dear Readers, which I believe might prevent all of us from getting into a similar mess. Here it is:

Any business that markets and sells toxic chemicals must also accept, for a fee, unused portions of those chemicals to be returned by the buyer. I don't even have a problem with them charging a hefty fee to take them and requiring that you have your original receipt to prove you bought it from them.

The point is, we need to provide consumers with relatively simple, straightforward ways to properly dispose of chemicals that they no longer need. Otherwise, this stuff just builds up in our homes -- that can't be good -- and will, inevitably, often be dumped down the drain or in the back yard -- that's definitely NOT good.

When I run for office, right after fighting for the Constitutional amendment requiring all citizens to vote, I'm pushing through the Chemical Return And Processing law (otherwise known as CRAP). Once elected, Dear Readers, I promise to provide you with reasonable and proper ways to dispose of your toxic substances.

It's a good idea, and that's no crap.