Green Teams

Here are the web references for the chemical chapter of the Green Teams. These links are layed out in the same order as in the chemical chapter and include most if not all the URLs mentioned in the workbook, plus many additional links . Please let me know if you find any other useful or broken links as we are always looking to provide good up to date information. Please send links or comments to David Coale at

Last update 9-30-05.

Chemicals

Green Step 1: The Chemical Audit

For those of you that are into the numbers, here is an excel spreadsheet to help you with the chemical audit. Remember, no cheating. Fill out the before sheet before you take any chemical actions. This will also give you the best before and after numbers.

Green Step 2: Dispose of Hazardous Waste

Below are the web sites for House-hold Hazardous Waste (HHW) listed by county and city.

San Francisco Toxics Reduction Program has a wide-range of hazardous waste collection services for spent or leftover household products including batteries, paint, pesticides, computers, motor oil, and mercury thermometers..

Alameda County Household Hazardous Waste
This site lists what you can and can not drop off as well as where and when drop off sites are located and when they are open.

Contra Costa County Household Hazardous Waste Program
This site has an extensive list what you can drop off as well as where and when along with phone numbers.

County of San Mateo Household Hazardous Waste Program This includes information on HHW collection, used oil collection, product give away programs and latex paint programs.

Santa Clara County Household Hazardous Waste This web site also includes links to Palo Alto Hazardous Waste Programs.

Recycling & Household Hazardous Waste Hotline Numbers Phone numbers for specific information about recycling & Household Hazardous Waste programs in your county.

State and national resources

California Integrated Waste Management HHW Program A comprehensive site with information from HHW to used oil and more along with a great links page.

Californians Against Waste A nonprofit grassroots organization that lobbies exclusively in support of a recycling economy. Advocating policy initiatives at the local, state, and federal levels.

Earth's 911 One web site for all recycling resources. It is the mission of Earth 911 to empower the public with community-specific resources to improve their quality of life.

For computer and electronic recycling see Green Step 11 on the Waste page.

Green Step 3: Car Care

Vehicle Pollution Prevention This web page has links listing of Clean Bay Business auto business and to two good PDF files that outline how cars pollute water and how to avoid it.

Green Step 4: Clean Green

Alternatives to Hazardous Household Products Non-toxic and less toxic home-made alternatives to toxic household products for cleaning your home.

Recipes for Alternatives to Toxic and Hazardous Household Products. Replace your toxic household cleaners with safe, effective substitutes while saving money and treading more lightly on the environment.

Green Step 5: Safe Pest Control

Answers to Common Pest Control Questions Less-toxic pest control is better and safer for your family and the environment.

Bio-Integral Resource Center This web site specializes in finding non-toxic and least-toxic, integrated pest management (IPM) solutions to urban and agricultural pest problems.

Berkeley Ecology Center fact sheets on Least-toxic pest control and more.

Common Ground Organic Garden Supply and Education Center sells organic plants and seeds, has a library and information sheets on wide range of topic from soil preparation to organic pest control and more.

California Native Plant Society Lots of information on native plants.

Green City Project can refer you to a nearby gardening group.

Green Step 6: Eat Organic

Eating Sustainably: Resources for the San Francisco Bay Area This web page lists local Farmers' Markets, Organic CSA farms, organic produce delivery, grocery stores that sell organic produce, restaurants and more.

Earth Save EarthSave supplies information, support and practical programs to those who have learned that their food choices impact environmental and human health.

Green Step 7: Body Talk

Real Goods Health & Body Care Products.

Green Step 8: Buy Less-toxic

Environmental Defense's Scorecard Scorecard is a very complete resource for information about toxic chemicals in the environment. You can lookup specific chemicals, their health effects, where they might be in your community as well as superfund sites near you.

Pesticide Action Network The PAN Pesticides Database is your one-stop location for current toxicity and regulatory information for pesticides.

Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation RBRC can help you recycle your portable rechargeable batteries. RBRC recycles the following battery chemistries: Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH), Lithium Ion (Li-ion) and Small Sealed Lead (Pb).

Green Step 9: Check Your Work-place for Toxics

Many of the city and county web sites listed in Green Step 2 above have information about workplace hazardous waste disposal, so check these sites to find out more about toxics in your workplace.

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition The most comprehensive site on high-tech impacts on community, worker and environmental health.

Web Resources: Waste Chemicals Energy Transport Water Community

Green Team Home Page - Forming a GreenTeam - Green Products

This page last updated on 9-30-05.
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