essay about avoiding using harmful materials

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Environmental Problems in Schools and How to Address Them

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Environmental awareness is increasing all around the world. This normalization of green thinking has formed a shift in the education system. Classes that address eco-friendliness are now present in many school curriculums. However, are these establishments practicing what they preach?

Schools affect the environment in four fundamental ways: food waste, general waste management, energy use, and water management. When these areas get neglected, they cause significant environmental issues. However, schools that adopt green practices to improve areas of concern reduce their carbon footprints. 

One can approach these obstacles with practical solutions by evaluating a school’s management of certain features. Informing staff, educators, and students of core environmental problems in schools and solutions enables community efforts to achieve sustainability.

An educational establishment’s inadequate food disposal impacts environmental degradation and significantly eats into a school’s budget. Studies show kids in the United States waste 50% of the food on their plates — primarily fruits and vegetables. This is significantly more than other countries, adding up to 540,000 tons of wasted food annually. 

Of course, food waste is more than simply throwing away a nutritional resource. When you dispose of uneaten products, you contribute to unnecessary transportation waste from carbon emissions. Some of the foods we purchase are outsourced from countries with environmentally destructive practices — these nations over-farm and cause soil depletion. The disposal of adequate food supports these avoidable forms of environmental degradation.

Schools can challenge food waste production by following the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) food recovery hierarchy. This method suggests limiting disposal by reducing the amount of food cooked , donating to soup kitchens, reusing excess for animal feed, donating oils for industrial use, composting, and disposing of food in the garbage as a last resort.

Educational establishments can utilize this EPA method by:

• Creating a menu form for kids to fill out regarding the next day’s lunch
• Developing a shared food table for uneaten goods
• Crafting an on-site compost
• Donating to local soup kitchens biweekly

This waste reduction method also has the potential to teach students about giving back to their community. Donating leftover food and compost ensures low-income households get their next meal. 

General Waste Management

A lack of recycling and waste management education has created a challenge for school sustainability. For instance, out of 2,000 Americans, 62% worry about recycling incorrectly — 68% think they can recycle plastic utensils, while 54% believe a greasy pizza box is recyclable.

Consider the many items students, teachers, and staff throw away daily — plastic bottles, paper, and other materials could instead be donated or reused. Adopting recycling habits can shift awareness of how resources get utilized in the classroom.  

Schools can reduce their waste and dispose of it responsibly in various ways, such as the following:

• Craft material-specific disposal bins to inform everyone proper waste management
• Develop a sustainability club with student presentations
• Create mandatory waste management training for staff
• Reduce paper use by emailing parents important documents
• Avoid printing and routing school memos — email them instead
• Donate extra materials to thrift stores and supply drives
• Prioritize recycling, such as using recycled materials for art projects
• Encourage students to use the fronts and backs of papers
• Create an online classroom portal
• Install motion sensor hand dryers in bathrooms

Educating students on recycling properly is the most crucial way to reduce general waste. However, you can make learning fun by holding contests to see which grades or classrooms recycle the most materials. 

The classroom can become greener by implementing environmental education and sustainable waste practices. Students like to put their knowledge to work in the real world, so including them in these processes will aid learning and community development. Sorting is also a fun practice that keeps students engaged in school.

Schools spend over $6 billion a year on energy — for perspective, they spend more money on energy consumption than textbooks and other teaching materials. Most of this energy use also comes from devices not conducive to learning.

Classroom electronic devices drive excess energy consumption and disrupt students’ focus. Many children retain information more adequately using a pencil and paper than a projector and a laptop. According to one study, writing by hand increased information recall, while students demonstrated a 25% increase in note-taking than those using technology.

Limiting school energy consumption can aid in deep learning, save money, and conserve the environment. To reduce energy use in schools, one should:

• Turn off the lights more or rely on natural lighting
• Set the thermostat to an energy-efficient temperature
• Encourage the school community to wear weather-appropriate clothing
• Install energy-efficient lightbulbs
• Use the school budget to install solar panels
• Plug devices into energy-efficient power strips
• Upgrade cafeteria kitchen appliances for more efficient models
• Hold class outdoors

Get students involved in energy-saving habits by assigning special jobs. These can include someone turning the lights on and off or asking a tech-savvy kid to shut down electronics at the end of the day. Doing this enables students to take ownership of their energy consumption and encourages them to continue their new practices at home.

Water Management

The United States is the third-highest water-consuming country globally, withdrawing 444,300,000,000 liters per year — much of this gets wasted. 

Households account for nearly 10,000 gallons of wasted water each year — now imagine how much water schools consume without sustainability initiatives. Excessive water consumption derives from worn toilet flappers, dripping taps, and leaky valves. To reduce unsustainable water practices, one can:

• Place signs to remind everyone to turn off the faucet and report leaks
• Have cleaning staff conduct weekly toilet checks
• Check hoses and outdoor taps to ensure they’re leak-free
• Evaluate the school’s water bill to track leaks and usage
• Install low-flow toilets in all bathrooms — efficient models save 13,000 gallons more water than standard models
• Install motion sensor sinks

Teachers should incorporate water conservation into classroom lessons. Students will then understand water scarcity and how to improve their water footprint.

Indoor Air Quality

IAQ became a more significant concern during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic because of how easily it spread in places like schools. It made many boards of education realize how old and outdated the HVAC and air monitoring systems were. However, this leads to air pollution indoors that impacts student health, which eventually goes outside to spread.

People spend 90% of their time indoors , meaning air quality is one of the top most influential factors in public health and pollutant control. Taking action to improve IAQ in any school building includes any of the following:

• Hire professionals to perform building envelope and HVAC audits.
• Schedule regular maintenance for equipment, like filters.
• Support funding and initiatives related to healing district IAQ.
• Invest in improved ventilation systems.
• Create strict outdoor smoking policies to prevent secondhand exposure.
• Choose cleaning sprays with no chemicals.

Climate-Specific Educational Resources

Many schools ignore teaching students about the climate crisis when it is one of the most essential science topics in the modern era. Without these lessons as a catalyst, students won’t know about or feel inspired to pursue environmental educational tracks in higher education, such as climate consultancy, renewable energy, or animal conservation.

What can teachers do to encourage science-based climate education? First, they can discuss with board members to obtain the right textbooks. Many glaze over the subject or dismiss anthropogenic climate change as an essential player. Doing due diligence by finding a well-balanced text is crucial.

Additionally, educators must remain fearless. Climate change is scientifically proven, yet it remains a politically contentious topic. Some parents may find it divisive and even immoral to teach these subjects, but this shouldn’t deter schools from relaying the truth about Earth’s well-being.

If students received comprehensive education in schools about the climate, it could mitigate eco-anxiety young people experience as they self-teach themselves about the planet’s health through independent research and social media exposure.

Upcoming generations are digital natives, and schools are embracing this by providing students with more technological opportunities than ever. One of the most disappointing portrayals of this are the mountains of 31 million Chromebooks that schools issued to students that ended up in landfill. E-waste is one of the most pervasive, toxic pollutants on the planet with few regulations guarding soil and waterways from their influence.

Schools must adjust their tech strategy not only to save money but to save the Earth. They must distribute computers and peripherals only when necessary, when it facilitates online learning, or if it helps less-privileged students improve digital literacy and access. Too many devices have been distributed and exploited or thrown away prematurely. Education must institute stronger mandates on proper usage and maintenance to keep them for longer.

Communication Is Key

Reaching out to staff and students can allow for environmental problems in schools to be addressed. Building a community that understands these issues will increase sustainability practices. When a community works together to create these changes, it saves the school money and conserves the environment.

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Essay About Saving Resources Through Recycling

Since the 20th century, the increase in the production of human waste has encouraged rapid steps to be taken in developing different methods of recycling. The disposal of products being consumed such as electronic, plastic, and garbage are filling up of landfills, creating health hazards all around the world. Recycling has many benefits because it reduces the need of landfill sites used to dispose trash, and greatly reduces the amount of pollution excreted. Recycling also conserves energy, and helps save resources that are scarce around the world.

Recycling creates jobs which is important for our economy. Recycling is in no way a new concept and was in existence thousands of years ago. Recycling’s beginning efforts were very small. It involved few groups of people who collected waste to be recycled for profit. Initio attemps of f recycling, there was a person who usually went around and collected waste from households to sell for profit. According to my reading of the Industrial Revolution that took place in the mid nineteenth century started the pollution and refuse problem because of the surplus of metals and textiles.

Individuals for the first time had the opportunity to throw things away. But in the 1930-40s, the economic depression that came after World War II, forced people to consider reusing items previously used. There was a lack of resources and money due to the war effort. This post World War II era saw how plastic and households’ everyday items were being made in large scale factories by companies. To this day, the so called “throw away” society was born, mainly because it was a whole lot cheaper to dispose of materials and objects than to reuse them or recycle them. When the first Earth day was marked on April 22, 1970, it affected the way people viewed recycling.

Over the future years, new recycling requirements and schemes began to appear with bottles and paper. To this current day, there are still recycling programs being created. One such form of recycling is curbside recycling which is a home service, such as a trash service, that also picks up recycling at the same time. (?). For materials to be reused and resold on the market for profit, recycling materials first need to be collected from homes and businesses, and then are transported to a Materials Recycling Facility.

Once at the facility, the workers then process all the materials in order to increase their value. They separate all the materials into different sections, such as glass being separated by color, plastics to be transported to pallet (?), and paper being baled. Depending on the types of equipment that are available, materials may be cleaned and reduced in large groups or volumes. PCMs are mixed materials, meaning that they can sometimes be contaminated with toxic or nontoxic residue (“RECYCLING”). Depending on the types of equipment that is available, materials may be cleaned and reduced in large groups or volumes. Once all the items go through this large process, the items are then able to be reused and sold back into the market. One major problem in the world is that the increasing amount of garbage in landfills is causing environmental problems.

For more than 100 years, countries around the world put its unwanted waste in landfills, and in Europe, there are at least 500,000 of these sites (Jones). Although most sites are “sanitary” landfills, which are equipped with modern environmental protection and gas collection systems. Thankfully, most of these landfill sites avoid environmental pollution and the release of greenhouse gas. What about the other “non-sanitary” sites though? Well, these other landfill sites do not have any protection mechanisms for the environment, therefore releasing all these toxins. The waste dumps can cause various environmental problems, from the pollution of health, soil, and water (Jones).

By recycling everyday objects, household, and business items, it avoids filling up these landfills. Landfills cause harm to our environment and can cause a variety of health hazards to humans all around the country. Energy is being consumed at an extraordinary rate in our current day. Our demand for energy is increasing every day since countries are becoming more modernized and being introduced to the new wonders of technology. Recycling saves energy because the products that are being recycled usually require less processing to turn them back into usable materials. The energy that is saved depends on the material though.

For example, recycled aluminum saves more energy than recycling glass. Aluminum is produced from aluminum ore, and in order to process it uses a huge amount of heat and electricity (American Geosciences). Even though cans are made out of aluminum, none of this processing is done with them because they can simply be cleaned and re-melted. In 2017, 3.7 million tons of aluminum were produced by recycling in the US, which saved enough energy to provide electricity for 7.7 million homes (American Geosciences). Making glass does not use much energy at all because the only energy-intensive action involved is getting the heat to melt the mineral mixture. It still uses energy, and in return it does not save nearly as much energy as producing aluminum (American Geosciences). Other than just helping the environment, recycling can also help the economy by creating jobs around the world.

Around the world, an estimated amount of 15-20 million collectors earn a living while scavenging trash (Ecocycle). Many local, national, and international businesses and industries depend on recyclable materials, so they need capable workers to complete these jobs. One job is the collection, processing, and preparing of the recyclable materials. Those who work in these jobs, pick up discarded materials and then bring it to processing facilities. This is where the materials are sorted and prepared to sell to markets for profit. (tie in introThe need for recycling has become more evident over time, acts from past generations.histroic or long term damage has made it more urgent Previously, the impact of trash and landfills was not proven.

Today, it is understood that dumping trash has detrimental effects to the environment. It is from these past experiences that the concept of recycling was created. Changing our trash into something useful has been proven to be one way to protect our environment. There have been even more increased efforts through recycling to stop future damage.

Although we are still exploring options to improve our efficiency and recreate old items, many more organizations are now involved in correcting the problem. Over time, it is anticipated that more aggressive efforts will be discovered to make an even bigger impact. It will be the responsibility of all of us to support these efforts and make our own changes.

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Explained: the toxic threat in everyday products, from toys to plastic

Thousands of potentially harmful chemicals are in products ranging from electronics to medical equipment and carpets in the US

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S ynthetic chemicals are in nearly everything we touch and consume. But some chemicals can be potentially harmful and a number of experts are anxious about possible long-term health effects of our everyday exposure. They say US regulations could be stronger.

One of those who is concerned is Leo Trasande of NYU Langone Health, an expert in children’s environmental health and author of Sicker Fatter Poorer, which is about the threat of hormone-disrupting chemicals.

Of the more than 40,000 chemicals used in consumer products in the US, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, less than 1% have been rigorously tested for human safety.

Consumers can’t know about them all, but Trasande says its good to have be aware of five groups of synthetic chemicals: pesticides, phthalates, flame retardants, bisphenol (BPA) and PFAS . “You can reduce your levels of exposure to these chemicals,” Trasande said. “You can’t completely eliminate these exposures because some of them are on our subways, our buses, they’re in environments we can’t control.”

What are they? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines pesticides as any chemical substance used to regulate, prevent or destroy plants or pests – usually insects, rodents or micro-organisms such as fungi and bacteria.

Residues are in up to 70% of produce sold in the US, according to the latest annual analysis of US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data by the health advocacy group Environmental Working Group.

Are they safe? The EPA says its regulatory actions and improvements in science over recent years has led to “an increase in the use of safer, less toxic pesticides … [and an] overall trend of reduced risk from pesticides”.

However, pesticides have been linked to a list of long-term health issues, including: prostate, lung, thyroid and bone marrow cancer; diabetes; Parkinson’s disease; asthma and macular degeneration, according to the Agricultural Health Study, a government-funded research study that has monitored nearly 90,000 farmers and their spouses since the early 1990s.

Farm workers face significantly higher exposure.

Haven’t there been some recent court cases? Yes. In a landmark ruling last August, Monsanto was found liable for causing a school groundskeeper’s cancer through exposure to Roundup, the company’s leading pesticide. Roundup, a glyphosate-based, organophosphate weedkiller, is one of, if not the most widely used pesticides in the world.

On 14 May another jury ordered Monsanto to pay more than $2bn to a couple that got cancer after using its weedkiller.

What can consumers do? Peel produce and trim the fat from meat and fish (where pesticides might collect); wash and scrub fruits and vegetables under running water. (Not all pesticides can be washed off, the EPA says. Some analysis suggests peeling won’t remove them all either.)

Buy organic where you can. But don’t avoid fresh foods if you can’t buy organic. Eat different kinds of produce to avoid potentially high exposure to a single pesticide.

What are they? Phthalates are a group of chemicals most commonly used to make plastic more flexible and harder to break. They also act as a binding agent or a solvent. They were first introduced in the 1920s as an additive in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and some healthcare products, such as insect repellent.

Exposure to phthalates is widespread and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) studies have found phthalates present in the majority of the population, particularly among children and women of child-bearing age.

They are in cosmetics and personal care products (shampoo, perfume, nail polish, hairspray, sanitary pads and more), vinyl flooring, mini blinds and wallpaper, raincoats, medical equipment and devices (including blood storage bags and IV tubes), plastic pipes, shower curtains, plastic film and food packaging, pharmaceuticals, lubricating oils and detergents.

Are they safe? Phthalates’ effects on humans have not been studied extensively, but they are believed to be an endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) that can alter hormonal balance and potentially cause reproductive, developmental and other health issues.

Links have been found to reproductive and genital defects, lower sperm count, disrupted hormones, and infertility has been found in numerous studies on animals, the National Research Council stated in a 2008 risk assessment report.

What can consumers do? Because they are in so many products, avoiding phthalates altogether is tricky but you can:

Minimize exposure by avoiding plastic food containers (plastics marked with a 1, 2, 4 or 5 recycling code are probably safest ).

Use glass instead and never reheat food in plastic.

Check product labels – avoid anything with “fragrance” or phthalates listed.

Flame retardants

What are they? Since the 1970s, hundreds of chemicals have been used to stop the spread of fire in a wide range of common household items and other products. Common types include: brominated flame retardants (the most commonly used), OFRs, TBBPA, HBCD and OPFRs. Brominated flame retardants belong to the same class of chemicals as PCBs, which were banned by the EPA in 1979.

They can be found in furniture foams, carpets, curtains and other textiles, paints, food packaging, surfboards, home insulation, appliances, toys, electronics (laptops, televisions, phones, cables, wires and circuit boards), car seats and other automotive parts, and many baby products.

Even as some flame retardants have been phased out of the market, they remain in the environment, people and animals.

Are they safe? Scientists have found exposure to flame retardants can affect the nervous and reproductive systems and more.

An EPA report related to the risk evaluation process for HBCD, a type of flame retardant, references multiple studies finding potential effects on liver and thyroid function and the endocrine system. Some chemicals have also been linked to cancer.

Children are most vulnerable because their bodies and brains are still developing, and they are often more exposed to flame retardant-laden products, such as carpets, toys and other items.

What can consumers do? Inhalation of household dust is believed to be the main way people are exposed to flame retardants. They can also be ingested through food or absorbed through the skin.

Limit your exposure in the house by keeping dust levels down by wet-mopping, vacuuming with a HEPA filter and keeping HVAC systems clean.

Wash your hands before eating since hand-to-mouth contact can lead to flame retardant exposure – an especially important tip for children .

Avoid buying furniture and baby products filled with polyurethane foam.

Bisphenols (including BPA)

What are they? Bisphenols are a group of chemicals used to manufacture plastics, epoxy resins and other products since the 1960s. Bisphenol-A (BPA), the most infamous of a group of 40 or so chemicals, was initially investigated for pharmaceutical use as synthetic estrogen in the 1930s. Many plastic products marketed as BPA-free contain similar replacement chemicals.

They are in receipt paper, food and beverage can liners , food packaging, DVDs and CDs, medical equipment, toys and automotive parts, water bottles and some dental sealants.

BPA is considered a building block of plastic and is one of the most used industrial chemicals today.

Are they safe? Though the health effects of BPA are still debated , it is thought to be an endocrine disruptor that mimics estrogen in the body, potentially causing adverse health effects.

The EPA says it is concerned about BPA because “it is a reproductive, developmental and systemic toxicant in animal studies and is weakly estrogenic”, adding there are “questions about its potential impact, particularly on children’s health and the environment”.

Studies , the agency says, “indicate that the levels of BPA in humans and the environment are below levels of potential concern for adverse effects”. But the EPA says “results of some recent studies” using low doses describe “subtle effects in laboratory animals at very low concentrations”, and notes some authorities, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are taking steps to “protect sensitive populations, particularly infants and young children”.

What can consumers do? BPA is absorbed into the body mainly through food and drink, though contaminated air and dust might also be a factor.

Cut down on canned food or, if you can’t, rinse the food in water. Don’t microwave food in plastic containers or cans.

Avoid plastics with a 3 or 7 recycle code on the bottom , and use non-plastic containers when possible for food and drinks.

Choose BPA-free water and baby bottles (though these probably contain BPS or other alternatives).

PFAS chemicals

What are they? PFAS, short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of at least 4,700 synthetic chemicals that have been in commercial production since the 1940s to make surfaces resist stains, water and grease.

The most widely studied are PFOA (also known as C8) – used for decades to make Teflon non-stick – and PFOS, used to make Scotchgard water repellent.

PFAS chemicals can be in non-stick cookware, fire retardants , stain and water repellents, furniture, waterproof clothes, pizza boxes and take-out containers, food packaging, carpets and textiles, rubbers and plastics, electronics and some dental floss .

They can also be dispersed through air and water and have been found in the environment of the Arctic ( and its polar bears ) and open ocean waters.

They have been found in the drinking water of about 16 million Americans , including 126 military bases , where PFAS-rich firefighting foam is used for training exercises.

The CDC found PFOA in the blood of 98% of Americans, as well as in breast milk and umbilical cord blood.

Are they safe? Health effects of the various kinds of PFAS are debated , but a growing body of evidence has linked exposure to some of them to:

Developmental issues , cancer, liver damage, immune system disruption, resistance to vaccines, thyroid disease, impaired fertility and high cholesterol. PFAS have been dubbed “possibly carcinogenic” to humans by the EPA and the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC).

Numerous studies on PFOS and PFOA on both humans and animals have shown a wide range of possible health effects , including decreased fertility among women, decreased sperm count and penis size , lowered birth weight, cancer and – among animals studied – death.

What can consumers do? Exposure to PFAS comes mainly from drinking contaminated water, eating food packaged in certain materials, or using products embedded with PFAS.

Avoid non-stick cookware, Gore-Tex fabric and clothing made with pre-2000 Scotchguard, and personal care products containing PTFE or flouro ingredients. When in doubt, ask manufacturers if their products contain PFAS since they may not be labeled.

Ask your local health department if your water is contaminated above EPA-specified levels, and stop using it if so.

Watch out for local fish advisories and don’t eat contaminated catches.

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Harmful Substances: What Are They and How to Avoid Them

Many chemicals, when used properly, can contribute significantly to the improvement of our quality of life, health, and wellbeing. However, some chemicals are very hazardous and can negatively impact our health and the environment when not properly managed.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, harmful substances can be dust, gases, or fumes (that we can breathe in), as well as liquids, gels, or powders. Depending on the individual, exposure to toxic substances can result in either no harmful effects, reversible effects, or effects that have permanent consequences. Illnesses caused by these substances can be prevented, but it’s important to be able to identify which substances we’re being exposed to, in order to carry out a risk assessment and apply necessary safety measures accordingly.

Risk effects on our health 

Avoiding household products that contain harsh chemicals and being aware of hazardous materials that don’t belong in a home environment can make a difference not only to your personal health and the health of those who live or work around you, but also to the environment. 

Cleaning supplies, household products, and some products used in many industrial, agricultural, and medical organizations can be harmful to your health. These products release substances that can damage your respiratory tissues if they are inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin. 

Short-term effects can include:

• Eye or throat irritation
• Headaches 
• Nausea and vomiting
• Skin rashes (dermatitis)
• Chemical burns

With elevated or extremely high doses of a toxic substance, you may experience the following long-term effects: 

• Lung, kidney, and liver disorders 
• Nervous system disorders
• Brain damage
• Birth defects 

Better Health Channel lists the following as the most common hazardous substances used in the workplace:

• Caustic substances
• Disinfectants
• Heavy metals, including mercury, lead, cadmium, and aluminum
• Petroleum products

Harmful substances

Many common products that you may be using could be harmful to your health:

Air fresheners

According to a study, air fresheners contain formaldehyde and other potentially dangerous chemicals that can lead to chronic respiratory problems, allergic reactions, and dysfunction of the lungs. Some air fresheners also contain flammable chemicals, and something as small as lighting a cigarette nearby can lead to painful burns. 

Most of the products used to eliminate pests, unwanted plants, fungi, bacteria, or viruses contain chemicals that can harm people or the environment. According to the Australian Department of Health, these products can poison the land, the water, and the air. For this reason, it’s very important to only use pesticides in accordance with the label directions.

Furniture polish

Besides being extremely flammable, some polishes may contain nitrobenzene, which is a chemical used to mask unpleasant smells and is extremely toxic to the skin.

This car product is extremely poisonous if ingested: even breathing it in can cause dizziness. Due to the ethylene glycol, most antifreeze has a pleasant smell, which may be attractive to pets and children. For this reason, safe storage is highly recommended.

It’s a very useful but also dangerous product that has strong properties that can cause serious damage to the body. According to Science Daily, bleach and derived cleaners emit chlorine-containing compounds, such as hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and chlorine gas (Cl2), which can accumulate to high levels in poorly ventilated indoor environments.

Cleaning products and fertilizers

Most of the products for cleaning include chemical ammonia which, in the case of inhalation, can irritate the respiratory system and mucous membranes and cause chemical burns to the skin. If mixed with products such as bleach, it can produce a toxic gas that is potentially fatal.

Generally, if a product smells very strong, causes tears and chest pain, or tastes bad, it’s mostly considered toxic. If you work with any of these products, you must take action to eliminate or reduce the risks as much as possible, for example, by always using the required protective equipment. 

Avoiding harmful substances

There are many harmful substances found in the home environment that are best left out or avoided altogether. 

WebMD: Better Information. Better Health suggests that you check the labels before you buy a product, and make sure they do not contain chlorine or ammonia; instead, choose cleaning products that say “petroleum-free,” “biodegradable,” or “phosphate-free.”

Be very careful if the product has the labels “poison” or “warning,” as this means that it contains very high amounts of toxic substances. Avoid using air fresheners altogether. One thing is for sure: chemical substances are part of our daily lives, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be careful about the products we use.

Here are some tips for cleaning your home:

• Soap is better than detergent because it isn’t made with petroleum and doesn’t leave toxins in the water. 
• Borax and crystallized soda (sodium carbonate or baking soda) are safer for cleaning surfaces.
• White vinegar or lemon juice can be used to clean grease from the kitchen, and vinegar mixed with baking soda can be used to unclog pipes. 

These cleaning products can be stored easily because they’re safe, don’t spoil, and don’t have to be kept in a cold place. 

In your workplace you can:

• Purge or ventilate storage areas.
• Suggest to your manager/team leader to prepare safety procedures in case of an accident.
• Ask for personal protection equipment such as respirators, gloves, and goggles. 
• If possible, perform tasks without using harmful substances.

If you are a vulnerable worker (young people and pregnant or breastfeeding employees) we recommend that you follow the guide created by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.

5 Ways To Reduce Your Exposure to Harmful Chemicals

Do you know what is in your shampoo? What about your toothpaste or deodorant? Ever thought twice about the safety of a plastic water bottle? What about your mattress?

NC State professor Heather Patisaul is discovering through her research that humans are profoundly influenced by the environments in which they live and the chemicals they encounter regularly. Research shows this: you’re likely being exposed to several potentially harmful chemicals through the air you breathe, the personal care products you use, how you clean your bathroom or kitchen, and even the containers from which you eat or drink.

Here’s the good news: your product choices can make a difference. These five steps can drastically reduce your exposure to everyday chemicals and ensure a more sustainable you.

Pitch Plastic

Reducing much of your exposure to endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A, or BPA, can be solved by reducing your use of one major thing: plastic. “Get plastic out of your lunch box. Anytime you can, choose glass or metal. It’s more environmentally friendly, sustainable and it’s better for your health,” Patisaul said.

That includes avoiding bottled water, reusable plastic water bottles, plastic cups and plastic food containers. In particular, Patisaul said avoid microwaving food in plastic containers or subjecting plastic food containers to heat (such as the sanitation cycle in your dishwasher), which accelerates the degradation of plastic. “Chemicals come out of the product over time, leaching chemicals into what you eat or drink,” she said.

And unfortunately BPA-free plastics might be just as hazardous.

Rethink Foam

While you’re pitching plastic, avoid polystyrene cups and to-go food containers. Like plastic, polystyrene leaches chemicals – particularly when exposed to heat such as a cup of coffee or hot tea.

Take a Breath of Fresh Air

What’s one of the most sure-fire ways to annoy your roommate? Buy products with fragrance. Not everyone loves your favorite cucumber and citrus shampoo or tropical sunrise candle, and Patisaul cautions that you might not love it either if you knew how it’s most likely made. “If it smells, it’s made from chemicals and some are known carcinogens,” she said.

Scrub Safely

EWG Skin Deep app and database offers guidance on chemicals used in thousands of personal care products such as shampoos, soaps and cosmetics. Research the impact of the products you currently use and any you consider buying.

Clean Up Your Cleaning Products

Like personal care products, our skin absorbs many of the chemicals in household cleaning products. EWG’s Guide to Health Cleaning shows consumers the impact of chemicals in common household cleaning products so that you’re able to make an informed choice.

Read more about Patisaul’s quest for a toxic-free future.  

Change Your State through simple, everyday actions. Explore more sustainability tips related to food, energy, waste, water, wellness and travel.

Environmental Issues Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on environmental issues.

The environment plays a significant role to support life on earth. But there are some issues that are causing damages to life and the ecosystem of the earth. It is related to the not only environment but with everyone that lives on the planet. Besides, its main source is pollution , global warming, greenhouse gas , and many others. The everyday activities of human are constantly degrading the quality of the environment which ultimately results in the loss of survival condition from the earth.

Source of Environment Issue

There are hundreds of issue that causing damage to the environment. But in this, we are going to discuss the main causes of environmental issues because they are very dangerous to life and the ecosystem.

Pollution – It is one of the main causes of an environmental issue because it poisons the air , water , soil , and noise. As we know that in the past few decades the numbers of industries have rapidly increased. Moreover, these industries discharge their untreated waste into the water bodies, on soil, and in air. Most of these wastes contain harmful and poisonous materials that spread very easily because of the movement of water bodies and wind.

Greenhouse Gases – These are the gases which are responsible for the increase in the temperature of the earth surface. This gases directly relates to air pollution because of the pollution produced by the vehicle and factories which contains a toxic chemical that harms the life and environment of earth.

Climate Changes – Due to environmental issue the climate is changing rapidly and things like smog, acid rains are getting common. Also, the number of natural calamities is also increasing and almost every year there is flood, famine, drought , landslides, earthquakes, and many more calamities are increasing.

Above all, human being and their greed for more is the ultimate cause of all the environmental issue.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

How to Minimize Environment Issue?

Now we know the major issues which are causing damage to the environment. So, now we can discuss the ways by which we can save our environment. For doing so we have to take some measures that will help us in fighting environmental issues .

Moreover, these issues will not only save the environment but also save the life and ecosystem of the planet. Some of the ways of minimizing environmental threat are discussed below:

Reforestation – It will not only help in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem but also help in restoring the natural cycles that work with it. Also, it will help in recharge of groundwater, maintaining the monsoon cycle , decreasing the number of carbons from the air, and many more.

The 3 R’s principle – For contributing to the environment one should have to use the 3 R’s principle that is Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Moreover, it helps the environment in a lot of ways.

To conclude, we can say that humans are a major source of environmental issues. Likewise, our activities are the major reason that the level of harmful gases and pollutants have increased in the environment. But now the humans have taken this problem seriously and now working to eradicate it. Above all, if all humans contribute equally to the environment then this issue can be fight backed. The natural balance can once again be restored.

FAQs about Environmental Issue

Q.1 Name the major environmental issues. A.1 The major environmental issues are pollution, environmental degradation, resource depletion, and climate change. Besides, there are several other environmental issues that also need attention.

Q.2 What is the cause of environmental change? A.2 Human activities are the main cause of environmental change. Moreover, due to our activities, the amount of greenhouse gases has rapidly increased over the past few decades.

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Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials are called pollutants.

Biology, Ecology, Health, Earth Science, Geography

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Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment . These harmful materials are called pollutants . Pollutants can be natural, such as volcanic ash . They can also be created by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced by factories. Pollutants damage the quality of air, water, and land. Many things that are useful to people produce pollution. Cars spew pollutants from their exhaust pipes. Burning coal to create electricity pollutes the air. Industries and homes generate garbage and sewage that can pollute the land and water. Pesticides —chemical poisons used to kill weeds and insects— seep into waterways and harm wildlife . All living things—from one-celled microbes to blue whales—depend on Earth ’s supply of air and water. When these resources are polluted, all forms of life are threatened. Pollution is a global problem. Although urban areas are usually more polluted than the countryside, pollution can spread to remote places where no people live. For example, pesticides and other chemicals have been found in the Antarctic ice sheet . In the middle of the northern Pacific Ocean, a huge collection of microscopic plastic particles forms what is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch . Air and water currents carry pollution. Ocean currents and migrating fish carry marine pollutants far and wide. Winds can pick up radioactive material accidentally released from a nuclear reactor and scatter it around the world. Smoke from a factory in one country drifts into another country. In the past, visitors to Big Bend National Park in the U.S. state of Texas could see 290 kilometers (180 miles) across the vast landscape . Now, coal-burning power plants in Texas and the neighboring state of Chihuahua, Mexico have spewed so much pollution into the air that visitors to Big Bend can sometimes see only 50 kilometers (30 miles). The three major types of pollution are air pollution , water pollution , and land pollution . Air Pollution Sometimes, air pollution is visible . A person can see dark smoke pour from the exhaust pipes of large trucks or factories, for example. More often, however, air pollution is invisible . Polluted air can be dangerous, even if the pollutants are invisible. It can make people’s eyes burn and make them have difficulty breathing. It can also increase the risk of lung cancer . Sometimes, air pollution kills quickly. In 1984, an accident at a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, released a deadly gas into the air. At least 8,000 people died within days. Hundreds of thou sands more were permanently injured. Natural disasters can also cause air pollution to increase quickly. When volcanoes erupt , they eject volcanic ash and gases into the atmosphere . Volcanic ash can discolor the sky for months. After the eruption of the Indonesian volcano of Krakatoa in 1883, ash darkened the sky around the world. The dimmer sky caused fewer crops to be harvested as far away as Europe and North America. For years, meteorologists tracked what was known as the “equatorial smoke stream .” In fact, this smoke stream was a jet stream , a wind high in Earth’s atmosphere that Krakatoa’s air pollution made visible. Volcanic gases , such as sulfur dioxide , can kill nearby residents and make the soil infertile for years. Mount Vesuvius, a volcano in Italy, famously erupted in 79, killing hundreds of residents of the nearby towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Most victims of Vesuvius were not killed by lava or landslides caused by the eruption. They were choked, or asphyxiated , by deadly volcanic gases. In 1986, a toxic cloud developed over Lake Nyos, Cameroon. Lake Nyos sits in the crater of a volcano. Though the volcano did not erupt, it did eject volcanic gases into the lake. The heated gases passed through the water of the lake and collected as a cloud that descended the slopes of the volcano and into nearby valleys . As the toxic cloud moved across the landscape, it killed birds and other organisms in their natural habitat . This air pollution also killed thousands of cattle and as many as 1,700 people. Most air pollution is not natural, however. It comes from burning fossil fuels —coal, oil , and natural gas . When gasoline is burned to power cars and trucks, it produces carbon monoxide , a colorless, odorless gas. The gas is harmful in high concentrations , or amounts. City traffic produces highly concentrated carbon monoxide. Cars and factories produce other common pollutants, including nitrogen oxide , sulfur dioxide, and hydrocarbons . These chemicals react with sunlight to produce smog , a thick fog or haze of air pollution. The smog is so thick in Linfen, China, that people can seldom see the sun. Smog can be brown or grayish blue, depending on which pollutants are in it. Smog makes breathing difficult, especially for children and older adults. Some cities that suffer from extreme smog issue air pollution warnings. The government of Hong Kong, for example, will warn people not to go outside or engage in strenuous physical activity (such as running or swimming) when smog is very thick.

When air pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide mix with moisture, they change into acids . They then fall back to earth as acid rain . Wind often carries acid rain far from the pollution source. Pollutants produced by factories and power plants in Spain can fall as acid rain in Norway. Acid rain can kill all the trees in a forest . It can also devastate lakes, streams, and other waterways. When lakes become acidic, fish can’t survive . In Sweden, acid rain created thousands of “ dead lakes ,” where fish no longer live. Acid rain also wears away marble and other kinds of stone . It has erased the words on gravestones and damaged many historic buildings and monuments . The Taj Mahal , in Agra, India, was once gleaming white. Years of exposure to acid rain has left it pale. Governments have tried to prevent acid rain by limiting the amount of pollutants released into the air. In Europe and North America, they have had some success, but acid rain remains a major problem in the developing world , especially Asia. Greenhouse gases are another source of air pollution. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane occur naturally in the atmosphere. In fact, they are necessary for life on Earth. They absorb sunlight reflected from Earth, preventing it from escaping into space. By trapping heat in the atmosphere, they keep Earth warm enough for people to live. This is called the greenhouse effect . But human activities such as burning fossil fuels and destroying forests have increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This has increased the greenhouse effect, and average temperatures across the globe are rising. The decade that began in the year 2000 was the warmest on record. This increase in worldwide average temperatures, caused in part by human activity, is called global warming . Global warming is causing ice sheets and glaciers to melt. The melting ice is causing sea levels to rise at a rate of two millimeters (0.09 inches) per year. The rising seas will eventually flood low-lying coastal regions . Entire nations, such as the islands of Maldives, are threatened by this climate change . Global warming also contributes to the phenomenon of ocean acidification . Ocean acidification is the process of ocean waters absorbing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Fewer organisms can survive in warmer, less salty waters. The ocean food web is threatened as plants and animals such as coral fail to adapt to more acidic oceans. Scientists have predicted that global warming will cause an increase in severe storms . It will also cause more droughts in some regions and more flooding in others. The change in average temperatures is already shrinking some habitats, the regions where plants and animals naturally live. Polar bears hunt seals from sea ice in the Arctic. The melting ice is forcing polar bears to travel farther to find food , and their numbers are shrinking. People and governments can respond quickly and effectively to reduce air pollution. Chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are a dangerous form of air pollution that governments worked to reduce in the 1980s and 1990s. CFCs are found in gases that cool refrigerators, in foam products, and in aerosol cans . CFCs damage the ozone layer , a region in Earth’s upper atmosphere. The ozone layer protects Earth by absorbing much of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation . When people are exposed to more ultraviolet radiation, they are more likely to develop skin cancer, eye diseases, and other illnesses. In the 1980s, scientists noticed that the ozone layer over Antarctica was thinning. This is often called the “ ozone hole .” No one lives permanently in Antarctica. But Australia, the home of more than 22 million people, lies at the edge of the hole. In the 1990s, the Australian government began an effort to warn people of the dangers of too much sun. Many countries, including the United States, now severely limit the production of CFCs. Water Pollution Some polluted water looks muddy, smells bad, and has garbage floating in it. Some polluted water looks clean, but is filled with harmful chemicals you can’t see or smell. Polluted water is unsafe for drinking and swimming. Some people who drink polluted water are exposed to hazardous chemicals that may make them sick years later. Others consume bacteria and other tiny aquatic organisms that cause disease. The United Nations estimates that 4,000 children die every day from drinking dirty water. Sometimes, polluted water harms people indirectly. They get sick because the fish that live in polluted water are unsafe to eat. They have too many pollutants in their flesh. There are some natural sources of water pollution. Oil and natural gas, for example, can leak into oceans and lakes from natural underground sources. These sites are called petroleum seeps . The world’s largest petroleum seep is the Coal Oil Point Seep, off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The Coal Oil Point Seep releases so much oil that tar balls wash up on nearby beaches . Tar balls are small, sticky pieces of pollution that eventually decompose in the ocean.

Human activity also contributes to water pollution. Chemicals and oils from factories are sometimes dumped or seep into waterways. These chemicals are called runoff. Chemicals in runoff can create a toxic environment for aquatic life. Runoff can also help create a fertile environment for cyanobacteria , also called blue-green algae . Cyanobacteria reproduce rapidly, creating a harmful algal bloom (HAB) . Harmful algal blooms prevent organisms such as plants and fish from living in the ocean. They are associated with “ dead zones ” in the world’s lakes and rivers, places where little life exists below surface water. Mining and drilling can also contribute to water pollution. Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a major contributor to pollution of rivers and streams near coal mines . Acid helps miners remove coal from the surrounding rocks . The acid is washed into streams and rivers, where it reacts with rocks and sand. It releases chemical sulfur from the rocks and sand, creating a river rich in sulfuric acid . Sulfuric acid is toxic to plants, fish, and other aquatic organisms. Sulfuric acid is also toxic to people, making rivers polluted by AMD dangerous sources of water for drinking and hygiene . Oil spills are another source of water pollution. In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, causing oil to gush from the ocean floor. In the following months, hundreds of millions of gallons of oil spewed into the gulf waters. The spill produced large plumes of oil under the sea and an oil slick on the surface as large as 24,000 square kilometers (9,100 square miles). The oil slick coated wetlands in the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi, killing marsh plants and aquatic organisms such as crabs and fish. Birds, such as pelicans , became coated in oil and were unable to fly or access food. More than two million animals died as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Buried chemical waste can also pollute water supplies. For many years, people disposed of chemical wastes carelessly, not realizing its dangers. In the 1970s, people living in the Love Canal area in Niagara Falls, New York, suffered from extremely high rates of cancer and birth defects . It was discovered that a chemical waste dump had poisoned the area’s water. In 1978, 800 families living in Love Canal had to a bandon their homes. If not disposed of properly, radioactive waste from nuclear power plants can escape into the environment. Radioactive waste can harm living things and pollute the water. Sewage that has not been properly treated is a common source of water pollution. Many cities around the world have poor sewage systems and sewage treatment plants. Delhi, the capital of India, is home to more than 21 million people. More than half the sewage and other waste produced in the city are dumped into the Yamuna River. This pollution makes the river dangerous to use as a source of water for drinking or hygiene. It also reduces the river’s fishery , resulting in less food for the local community. A major source of water pollution is fertilizer used in agriculture . Fertilizer is material added to soil to make plants grow larger and faster. Fertilizers usually contain large amounts of the elements nitrogen and phosphorus , which help plants grow. Rainwater washes fertilizer into streams and lakes. There, the nitrogen and phosphorus cause cyanobacteria to form harmful algal blooms. Rain washes other pollutants into streams and lakes. It picks up animal waste from cattle ranches. Cars drip oil onto the street, and rain carries it into storm drains , which lead to waterways such as rivers and seas. Rain sometimes washes chemical pesticides off of plants and into streams. Pesticides can also seep into groundwater , the water beneath the surface of the Earth. Heat can pollute water. Power plants, for example, produce a huge amount of heat. Power plants are often located on rivers so they can use the water as a coolant . Cool water circulates through the plant, absorbing heat. The heated water is then returned to the river. Aquatic creatures are sensitive to changes in temperature. Some fish, for example, can only live in cold water. Warmer river temperatures prevent fish eggs from hatching. Warmer river water also contributes to harmful algal blooms. Another type of water pollution is simple garbage. The Citarum River in Indonesia, for example, has so much garbage floating in it that you cannot see the water. Floating trash makes the river difficult to fish in. Aquatic animals such as fish and turtles mistake trash, such as plastic bags, for food. Plastic bags and twine can kill many ocean creatures. Chemical pollutants in trash can also pollute the water, making it toxic for fish and people who use the river as a source of drinking water. The fish that are caught in a polluted river often have high levels of chemical toxins in their flesh. People absorb these toxins as they eat the fish. Garbage also fouls the ocean. Many plastic bottles and other pieces of trash are thrown overboard from boats. The wind blows trash out to sea. Ocean currents carry plastics and other floating trash to certain places on the globe, where it cannot escape. The largest of these areas, called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean. According to some estimates, this garbage patch is the size of Texas. The trash is a threat to fish and seabirds, which mistake the plastic for food. Many of the plastics are covered with chemical pollutants. Land Pollution Many of the same pollutants that foul the water also harm the land. Mining sometimes leaves the soil contaminated with dangerous chemicals. Pesticides and fertilizers from agricultural fields are blown by the wind. They can harm plants, animals, and sometimes people. Some fruits and vegetables absorb the pesticides that help them grow. When people consume the fruits and vegetables, the pesticides enter their bodies. Some pesticides can cause cancer and other diseases. A pesticide called DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) was once commonly used to kill insects, especially mosquitoes. In many parts of the world, mosquitoes carry a disease called malaria , which kills a million people every year. Swiss chemist Paul Hermann Muller was awarded the Nobel Prize for his understanding of how DDT can control insects and other pests. DDT is responsible for reducing malaria in places such as Taiwan and Sri Lanka. In 1962, American biologist Rachel Carson wrote a book called Silent Spring , which discussed the dangers of DDT. She argued that it could contribute to cancer in humans. She also explained how it was destroying bird eggs, which caused the number of bald eagles, brown pelicans, and ospreys to drop. In 1972, the United States banned the use of DDT. Many other countries also banned it. But DDT didn’t disappear entirely. Today, many governments support the use of DDT because it remains the most effective way to combat malaria. Trash is another form of land pollution. Around the world, paper, cans, glass jars, plastic products, and junked cars and appliances mar the landscape. Litter makes it difficult for plants and other producers in the food web to create nutrients . Animals can die if they mistakenly eat plastic. Garbage often contains dangerous pollutants such as oils, chemicals, and ink. These pollutants can leech into the soil and harm plants, animals, and people. Inefficient garbage collection systems contribute to land pollution. Often, the garbage is picked up and brought to a dump, or landfill . Garbage is buried in landfills. Sometimes, communities produce so much garbage that their landfills are filling up. They are running out of places to dump their trash. A massive landfill near Quezon City, Philippines, was the site of a land pollution tragedy in 2000. Hundreds of people lived on the slopes of the Quezon City landfill. These people made their living from recycling and selling items found in the landfill. However, the landfill was not secure. Heavy rains caused a trash landslide, killing 218 people. Sometimes, landfills are not completely sealed off from the land around them. Pollutants from the landfill leak into the earth in which they are buried. Plants that grow in the earth may be contaminated, and the herbivores that eat the plants also become contaminated. So do the predators that consume the herbivores. This process, where a chemical builds up in each level of the food web, is called bioaccumulation . Pollutants leaked from landfills also leak into local groundwater supplies. There, the aquatic food web (from microscopic algae to fish to predators such as sharks or eagles) can suffer from bioaccumulation of toxic chemicals. Some communities do not have adequate garbage collection systems, and trash lines the side of roads. In other places, garbage washes up on beaches. Kamilo Beach, in the U.S. state of Hawai'i, is littered with plastic bags and bottles carried in by the tide . The trash is dangerous to ocean life and reduces economic activity in the area. Tourism is Hawai'i’s largest industry . Polluted beaches discourage tourists from investing in the area’s hotels, restaurants, and recreational activities. Some cities incinerate , or burn, their garbage. Incinerating trash gets rid of it, but it can release dangerous heavy metals and chemicals into the air. So while trash incinerators can help with the problem of land pollution, they sometimes add to the problem of air pollution. Reducing Pollution Around the world, people and governments are making efforts to combat pollution. Recycling, for instance, is becoming more common. In recycling, trash is processed so its useful materials can be used again. Glass, aluminum cans, and many types of plastic can be melted and reused . Paper can be broken down and turned into new paper. Recycling reduces the amount of garbage that ends up in landfills, incinerators, and waterways. Austria and Switzerland have the highest recycling rates. These nations recycle between 50 and 60 percent of their garbage. The United States recycles about 30 percent of its garbage. Governments can combat pollution by passing laws that limit the amount and types of chemicals factories and agribusinesses are allowed to use. The smoke from coal-burning power plants can be filtered. People and businesses that illegally dump pollutants into the land, water, and air can be fined for millions of dollars. Some government programs, such as the Superfund program in the United States, can force polluters to clean up the sites they polluted. International agreements can also reduce pollution. The Kyoto Protocol , a United Nations agreement to limit the emission of greenhouse gases, has been signed by 191 countries. The United States, the world’s second-largest producer of greenhouse gases, did not sign the agreement. Other countries, such as China, the world’s largest producer of greenhouse gases, have not met their goals. Still, many gains have been made. In 1969, the Cuyahoga River, in the U.S. state of Ohio, was so clogged with oil and trash that it caught on fire. The fire helped spur the Clean Water Act of 1972. This law limited what pollutants could be released into water and set standards for how clean water should be. Today, the Cuyahoga River is much cleaner. Fish have returned to regions of the river where they once could not survive. But even as some rivers are becoming cleaner, others are becoming more polluted. As countries around the world become wealthier, some forms of pollution increase. Countries with growing economies usually need more power plants, which produce more pollutants. Reducing pollution requires environmental, political, and economic leadership. Developed nations must work to reduce and recycle their materials, while developing nations must work to strengthen their economies without destroying the environment. Developed and developing countries must work together toward the common goal of protecting the environment for future use.

How Long Does It Last? Different materials decompose at different rates. How long does it take for these common types of trash to break down?

• Paper: 2-4 weeks
• Orange peel: 6 months
• Milk carton: 5 years
• Plastic bag: 15 years
• Tin can: 100 years
• Plastic bottle: 450 years
• Glass bottle: 500 years
• Styrofoam: Never

Indoor Air Pollution The air inside your house can be polluted. Air and carpet cleaners, insect sprays, and cigarettes are all sources of indoor air pollution.

Light Pollution Light pollution is the excess amount of light in the night sky. Light pollution, also called photopollution, is almost always found in urban areas. Light pollution can disrupt ecosystems by confusing the distinction between night and day. Nocturnal animals, those that are active at night, may venture out during the day, while diurnal animals, which are active during daylight hours, may remain active well into the night. Feeding and sleep patterns may be confused. Light pollution also indicates an excess use of energy. The dark-sky movement is a campaign by people to reduce light pollution. This would reduce energy use, allow ecosystems to function more normally, and allow scientists and stargazers to observe the atmosphere.

Noise Pollution Noise pollution is the constant presence of loud, disruptive noises in an area. Usually, noise pollution is caused by construction or nearby transportation facilities, such as airports. Noise pollution is unpleasant, and can be dangerous. Some songbirds, such as robins, are unable to communicate or find food in the presence of heavy noise pollution. The sound waves produced by some noise pollutants can disrupt the sonar used by marine animals to communicate or locate food.

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What Is Waste Segregation, and Why Is It Important?

We all know it’s important to reduce , reuse , and recycle . But what does that mean? And why is it important to be mindful of our waste?

Reducing waste means using less stuff. It’s about using less paper, plastic , water , and energy. Why? Because using less stuff reduces the amount of pollution that goes into the air, water, and land.

Reusing means using something again. It’s about finding new ways to use old things. Why? Because it takes less energy and resources to reuse something than to make something new.

Recycling means turning something that would be wasted into something that can be used again. Why? Because recycling saves energy and resources, and it helps reduce pollution.

So, why is it important to be mindful of our waste? Because waste reduction , reuse, and recycling are important ways to protect our environment.

In today’s article, let’s explore waste segregation, another essential aspect of being mindful of our waste. Here’s what you need to know :

What Is Waste Segregation?

Waste segregation separates different types of waste so that it can be recycled or disposed of more effectively. By segregating waste, we can reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill and recycle more materials .

There are many types of waste, and each type should be segregated into its bin. The most common types of waste are general, recyclable , and hazardous .

General waste is any waste that cannot be recycled. This includes food waste, packaging, and other household items. Recyclable waste includes paper, plastic, metal, and glass. Hazardous waste includes chemicals, batteries , and electronic waste .

Waste segregation is important because it helps to reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill. It also makes recycling more effective, as different materials can be recycled more easily when separated.

The Benefits of Waste Segregation

Most people are aware of the importance of recycling and the benefits it has for the environment. However, many people are not aware of the benefits of waste segregation. By segregating your waste, you can make a big difference in the amount of waste sent to the landfill.

Waste segregation is the process of separating your waste into different types. This can include separating your organic waste from your recyclable waste. By doing this, you can ensure that your waste is sent to the correct place for disposal.

One of the biggest benefits of waste segregation is that it can help reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills . Landfills are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. By segregating your waste, you can help reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and therefore help reduce your carbon footprint.

Another benefit of waste segregation is that it can help reduce waste disposal costs. By segregating your waste, you can ensure that your waste is sent to the most appropriate disposal facility. This can help to reduce the overall cost of waste disposal.

Waste segregation can also help to improve the efficiency of waste disposal. By segregating your waste, you can ensure the waste is sent to the correct facility for disposal. This can help to reduce the amount of time and resources that are required for waste disposal.

Overall, waste segregation is a great way to impact the environment positively. By segregating your waste, you can help reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills, reduce the cost of waste disposal, and improve the efficiency of waste disposal.

The Bottom Line

The importance of waste segregation cannot be overstated. By segregating waste, we can ensure that recyclable and non-recyclable materials are disposed of properly. This protects our environment and helps to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.

If you’re looking for an electronic recycling center , we can help you. At Atlanta Green Recycling , we have a convenient and cost-effective e-waste disposal service that will meet your requirements . Our services are tailored to help organizations dispose of their e-waste hassle-free! We provide complete sustainable , cost-effective solutions for recycling and disposal of electronics . Contact us today to learn more and get started!

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Hazardous wastes, adverse impacts, and management strategies: a way forward to environmental sustainability

• Published: 06 October 2021
• Volume 24 , pages 9731–9756, ( 2022 )

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• Guoqing Qian 1 ,
• Chuansong Duanmu 1 ,
• Nisar Ali   nAff1 ,
• Adnan Khan 2 ,
• Sumeet Malik 2 ,
• Yong Yang 1 &
• Muhammad Bilal   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5388-3183 3  

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There has been great concern about producing, converting, or disposing of the waste obtained from different sources. Waste production is a continuous phenomenon that can be minimized by taking certain measures; however, it cannot be eliminated completely. The wastes produced along with various useful processes, such as industrial operations or natural processes, may have hazardous effects on the living organisms. The hazards brought about by natural calamities or man-made operations can affect the integrity of the natural environment and the living entities in the worst possible ways. An insight into the hazardous effects and the associated causes intensifies the need to develop hazard management strategies. Hazard management policies have garnered prodigious attention due to the disastrous effects of hazardous materials. The hazard management policies are being addressed at the government as well as the individual levels benefitting mankind. Worldwide, different countries are working on hazard management in different capacities, depending upon the available resources. Attempts are being made to manage hazardous products obtained from different sources without the natural sources being worn out, ensuring environmental sustainability. The general escalation in world pollution, making it unfit for living organisms, ruining the aesthetic beauty of the environment, etc., has given rise to great concerns about waste management. The control and management of waste products have become the hottest topic being discussed on various platforms like symposia, workshops (both National and International), conferences, and a demanding topic in many journals. Considering the dire need for knowledge and awareness about waste management, this review focuses on the causes and effects of the hazards and measures being taken at different levels.

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A critical review on sustainable hazardous waste management strategies: a step towards a circular economy

Ashutosh Kumar, Amit K. Thakur, … Rahul Kumar

Conventional and Emerging Practices in Hazardous Waste Management

Possible Strategies for Hazardous Waste Management and Legality

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Present address: Key laboratory of palygorskite Science and Applied Technology of Jiangsu Province, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, National and Local Joint Engineering Research Centre for Deep Utilization Technology of Rock Salt Resources, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huaian, 223003, China

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Key laboratory of palygorskite Science and Applied Technology of Jiangsu Province, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, National and Local Joint Engineering Research Centre for Deep Utilization Technology of Rock Salt Resources, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huaian, 223003, China

Guoqing Qian, Chuansong Duanmu & Yong Yang

Institute of Chemical Sciences, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, 25120, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Adnan Khan & Sumeet Malik

School of Life Science and Food Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huaian, 223003, China

Muhammad Bilal

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Qian Guo Qing, Chuanson Duanmu, Nisar Ali was involved in conception and design of study; Nisar Ali, Adnan Khan, and Sumeet Malik was involved in material preparation, search, and collection of relevant articles/reviews; Yong Yang and Muhammad Bilal were involved in writing—review and editing. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

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Qian, G., Duanmu, C., Ali, N. et al. Hazardous wastes, adverse impacts, and management strategies: a way forward to environmental sustainability. Environ Dev Sustain 24 , 9731–9756 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01867-2

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8 Ways to Avoid Harmful Chemicals

CEO and Chairman of Rodale, Inc. and book author

by guest blogger Robin Dodson, ScD, research scientist at the Silent Spring Institute

It's difficult to avoid all of the potentially harmful chemicals in everyday products, but there are steps you can take to choose safer products and reduce your exposure. At the Silent Spring Institute, we recently did a study, called the Household Exposure Study , and the results, along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's (CDC's) National Exposure Reports , show that consumer product chemicals are ending up in people's homes and bodies. And everyone is asking, "So, what can I do?"

To answer this question, our first step was to contact manufacturers for information about what's in their products; however, the majority of them would not provide complete information. So we were left with having to test the products ourselves. In total, we analyzed 50 product types, including personal care products (such as shampoo, lotion, and toothpaste), cleaning products (like surface cleaner and laundry detergent), and other household items (shower curtains and cat litter, for instance) for 66 hormone disruptors and chemicals associated with asthma.

We not only wanted to know which consumer products might be contributing most to people's exposure, but we also were interested in whether it was possible to identify products with fewer of those chemicals by reading product labels. The results from our product label analyses were mixed: It's possible to avoid some target chemicals through label reading, but not all.

Based on previous research and the label analyses, we have come up with several tips to help you reduce your exposure .

• Use fewer products. We know that the more products you use, the more chemicals you are potentially exposed to. For example, a person using a typical array of everyday products--surface cleaner, tub-and-tile cleaner, laundry detergent, bar soap, shampoo and conditioner, facial cleanser and lotion, and toothpaste--is potentially exposed to 19 of the harmful chemicals we studied. So, keep it simple and use less.
• Use simple cleaners. Plain water mixed with baking soda or vinegar or castile soap can be used for many cleaning tasks throughout the home. There are a variety of recipes for do-it-yourself cleaners available. Again, keep it simple, and clean like your grandmother .
• Be safe in the sun . Sunscreens contain many problems chemicals. Avoiding the sun during peak hours, wearing wide-brimmed hats, and wearing tightly woven fabric cover-ups and sunglasses can block UV rays without any added chemicals--giving you an excuse to round out your summer wardrobe!
• Fragrances . Fragranced products, such as dryer sheets, air fresheners, and perfume, had the largest number of chemicals detected and some of the highest concentrations of harmful chemicals. Fragrances can trigger asthma, and some synthetic fragrances are hormone disruptors. Avoid products with terms like "fragrance" or "parfum" in the product ingredient list and choose "fragrance-free" when you can.
• Vinyl . Vinyl products, such as pillow protectors and shower curtains, contain more than 10 percent by weight of diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), a phthalate associated hormone disruption and increased respiratory symptoms. Asthmatics seeking to reduce their exposure to dust mites by using these may be exposing themselves to another asthma trigger without realizing it. Alternatives to vinyl exist, such as chemical-free cotton pillow covers and nylon shower curtains.
• Antimicrobials. Triclosan and triclocarban, both hormone disruptors, are broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents commonly added to personal care products . These chemicals should be fairly easy to spot, since labeling requirements mean that these chemicals are often listed in a product ingredients list, especially when they are used as active ingredients. Besides, studies have shown that washing your hands with regular soap and water is just as effective as using antibacterial hand soaps.
• Parabens . Used as preservatives in personal care products, parabens are often included in the list of product ingredients. They are estrogenic, meaning they mimic estrogen . Look for labels saying "paraben-free" and watch out for methylparaben, ethylparaben, and butylparaben among the ingredients.
• Cyclosiloxanes . We found cyclosiloxanes in sunscreens and hair products, as they are often used in products to enhance conditioning and spreading, and to make products water resistant. They've been linked with hormone disruption . Avoid products with "cyclomethicone" on the label.

To learn more about the study, visit our website and watch a short video .

Robin Dodson, Sc.D., is a research scientist at Silent Spring Institute , a not-for-profit scientific organization researching the links between the environment and health. Her expertise is in indoor environmental exposure assessment.

For more from Maria Rodale, go to www.mariasfarmcountrykitchen.com

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From our partner, more in environment.

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Useful and harmful materials: lesson and worksheets, elementary science lesson and four free live/printable worksheets on useful and harmful materials and the importance of symbols on product labels..

• Is broken glass useful or harmful?
• Things can be both useful and harmful
• Are candy wrappers useful or harmful?
• Things that cannot be reused
• Things made of harmful chemicals
• Warning symbols / hazard symbols
• Food labels

The worksheets you’ll find in the following sections are “live worksheets” — they can be answered right on this page, with a button that lets you find out your score or email your answers to your teacher. You can also get printable (PDF) versions of all the worksheets on this page here:  

• Useful and Harmful Materials: Grade 4  
• Useful and Harmful Materials: Grade 5 Worksheet 1  
• Useful and Harmful Materials: Grade 5 Worksheet 2  
• Useful and Harmful Materials: Importance of Labels  

This is not just a lesson for science class — it is also a topic that is very practical!

Every day we encounter lots of different things in the environment — whether at home, in school, or elsewhere — and it’s very important that we are able to tell which of those things we can use without any worry, and which ones we have to be extra careful with because they are made of things that can potentially harm us.

What’s an example of something useful?

I’m sure you can think of many things immediately!

The pots and pans we use for cooking, the umbrella that protects us from both the rain and the hot sun, the chairs we sit in at school, the chargers for our phones and computers…the list goes on and on! I’m pretty sure that if we try, we would be able to list down hundreds and hundreds of things that are of use to us.

What’s an example of something harmful?

If you can’t think of one right away, try to think of this instead: what are the things that you’ve been told by your parents to stay away from?

For example, if you’ve ever accidentally broken something made of glass, I’m sure the adults in your house told you to stay away first while they put away the broken pieces. That’s because those shards (or broken pieces) of glass are so sharp that they can cut your skin. If you step on one, it could cut the sole of your foot and cause it to bleed. That would be painful! Even worse, if a shard of glass remains in your foot — maybe because you didn’t notice that it was still there, or you accidentally drove it deeper into your skin by walking on your wounded foot while the glass was still stuck to it — the glass splinter could cause an infection. That would definitely be a problem!

So, generally, those things that you are told to stay away from are the ones that can cause you harm.

Now, you have to keep in mind that things don’t have to be useful OR harmful. That is, things can actually be both. Something that is useful can be harmful and something that is harmful can be useful.

(I know that fact isn’t much use in science tests — where you are asked to decide if something is useful or harmful — but it’s actually really important that you learn that things aren’t always black or white! That way if you ever become a teacher, you can listen to your students if they have a reason for answering the way they did.)

A lot of the time, something can be useful BUT it can cause harm…

• if it is used improperly,
• if it is used carelessly, or
• if it deteriorates — if its condition is not as good as when it was new or fresh

One good example of this is the medicine that we take when we are ill. They are useful because they can help us get better. But there are situations where they might harm us instead.

• For example, paracetamol is something that we take when we have fever. But you should always take a look at the expiration date — the last day on which it is still safe — before taking any medicine. If, for example, the paracetamol you have at home turns out to have expired two or three years ago, not only might it not work anymore, it might have gotten contaminated by other things over time and might actually cause you to get even sicker.
• Allergy meds can help our allergy symptoms (like itchiness or runny nose) go away. But many allergy meds also have a side effect: they might make you sleepy. That’s why it’s always better if you take them at night, before you go to sleep, so that their side effect — making you sleepy — will come at a handy time and NOT happen during daytime when you have many things to do. There are even allergy meds that make you SO drowsy, you should be extra careful not to take them before doing things like driving a car or operating a machine or basically anything that needs alert attention.

A knife is useful for slicing things but if you use it when you still don’t know how, or even if you’ve already been taught how to use a knife but you’re careless when you’re using it, it could cut your fingers.

A pencil is useful for writing and drawing but if you use it as a sword while playing, and you accidentally poke someone in the eye with it, your playmate could actually go blind!

Fertilizers and pesticides are useful for keeping our plants healthy but if we accidentally inhale or ingest them, they can be poisonous to us.

Alcohol, disinfectants, paints, oils, and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) all have uses in our home but are flammable – meaning they can easily catch fire – and so we must be extra careful to keep them away from flames.

Even the school chair that we mentioned when we were coming up with examples of useful things can become harmful under certain conditions. For example, if a typhoon blew through your school and got your chairs all wet, it might have caused your chairs to become moldy. Mold can cause health problems, especially if it gets into your lungs or other organs.

Things can also be useful or harmful depending on what we actually do with them .

For example, if you just throw away empty glass jars, they can be considered harmful because they will just add to the waste that goes into landfills – they’re harmful to the earth. But, actually, empty glass jars don’t have to be thrown away. They can be reused to store food or ingredients, or they can be repurposed into other things like vases or pencil holders. It’s actually quite easy to keep a glass jar useful because you don’t have to do anything special to them – you just have to wash them thoroughly and you can reuse or repurpose them right away.

How about candy wrappers? Are candy wrappers useful or harmful?

You’ve probably read or been told that plastic candy wrappers can be turned into things like bags or curtains. This is technically true BUT it will actually take quite a lot of time and effort on your part to turn them into a bag or a curtain. You’ll have to wash them or wipe them clean. They’re small so you’ll have to collect enough of them. And then you’ll have to find a way to stick them together. If you’re going to turn them into a bag, you’ll have to find a way to make them strong enough to hold things, probably by sewing them into another material. If you’re going to make them into a curtain – well, you’ll have to keep in mind that plastic doesn’t let air in, so is it really the best material for curtains? Also, do you actually know somebody who routinely makes things out of candy wrappers? I would say probably 99.99% of people just throw them away. So, what I’m trying to say is, if we’re going to be practical about it, candy wrappers are NOT actually useful.

(In fact, I would suggest just not eating candy in the first place. They aren’t healthy and their wrappers just harm the environment.)

Again, it depends on what we actually – not just theoretically – do with them.

Some things are harmful once they have been used up and, for various reasons, cannot be used again.

Batteries that are non-rechargeable may be harmful if they are already drained and not disposed of properly because they can leak harmful chemicals such as lithium, lead, and mercury.

Medical waste such as used syringes and masks cannot be reused because they might spread illness from one person to another. For that reason, once they have been used once, they have to be thrown away, which adds to the trash burden of the earth.

Finally, there are things made of harmful chemicals that we use to clean the house or rid it of pests. They are harmful to rats and roaches and dirt and gunk but they can also be harmful to humans so they have to be used very carefully and sparingly. Examples include:

• Muriatic acid – great for cleaning the bathroom but can cause headaches, acid burns, damage to the lungs and respiratory tract, and blindness if accidentally splashed into the eyes
• Ant and roach chalk and other insecticides – kills cockroaches and insects but can cause vomiting and stomach pains in overexposed humans
• Moth balls – can keep away rats but can be toxic to humans, especially if children mistake them for candy and accidentally eat them

You can read more about household items that can be poisonous to humans (especially children) HERE .

Importance of Labels in Identifying Useful and Harmful Materials

Hazard symbols, or warning symbols, help us identify those things that can be harmful to us. They are placed on product labels so we can easily tell that we need to keep away, or that a thing needs to be handled very carefully.

Common hazard symbols placed on product labels include those that indicate if something is:

• A health hazard
• An environmental hazard

In addition, certain types of food have special food labels that can help us tell what is in them – or what is not in them – so that we can decide if it’s okay for us to eat them or not.

• Halal – A halal certification tells Muslims that that food is okay for them to eat.
• Kosher – If food is kosher, it is okay for Jewish people to eat.
• Allergens – Labels can tell us if a certain food contains nuts, lactose, gluten, or other common allergens so that people who are allergic to them can avoid eating them.

Finally, labels can also tell us if something can be recycled. Look out for the recycling symbol!

Put your mouse pointer/cursor above the symbols to reveal what they mean. For mobile users, tap on the symbol to reveal the same information.

Can kill or cause severe illness

Can wear away or destroy little by little

Can catch fire easily

Can explode

Health Hazard

Can cause illness in humans now or in the future

Environmental Hazard

Can leak chemicals or destroy the environment in other ways, also causing harm to those living in that environment

Contains nuts

Should not be eaten by people who are allergic to nuts

Contains soybeans

Should not be eaten by people who are allergic to soy

Contains crustaceans

Should not be eaten by people who are allergic to crustaceans such as shrimp and crab

Okay for Muslims to eat

Okay for Jewish people to eat

Can be recycled

The worksheets below are interactive “live worksheets” — they can be answered and corrected/submitted right on this page.

Printable (PDF) versions of these worksheets are also available for free download — just click on links provided before each worksheet.

Note on the Worksheets

You can reduce the size of the worksheet by zooming out your browser screen. For Windows users, scroll down the mouse wheel while pressing the Ctrl key in your keyboard. If there are any errors/glitches, just refresh and try again.

Useful and Harmful Materials Grade 4 / Grade 5

You can get a printable copy of this worksheet here: Useful and Harmful Materials Grade 4 (PDF)  

Useful and Harmful Materials Grade 5

You can get a printable copy of this worksheet here: Useful and Harmful Materials Grade 5 – Worksheet 1 (PDF)  

You can get a printable copy of this worksheet here: Useful and Harmful Materials Grade 5 – Worksheet 2 (PDF)  

Useful and Harmful Materials: Importance of Labels and Symbols

You can get a printable copy of this worksheet here: Useful and Harmful Materials Grade 5 – Importance of Labels (PDF)  

Did you enjoy these useful and harmful materials worksheets? See all our free printable and interactive worksheets here:

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• Utility Menu

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A publication of the harvard college writing program.

Harvard Guide to Using Sources 

• The Honor Code
• How to Avoid Plagiarism

It's not enough to know why plagiarism is taken so seriously in the academic world or to know how to recognize it. You also need to know how to avoid it.

The simplest cases of plagiarism to avoid are the intentional ones: If you copy a paper from a classmate, buy a paper from the Internet, copy material from a book, article, podcast, video, or website without citing the author, you are plagiarizing. Here's the best advice you'll ever receive about avoiding intentional plagiarism: If you're tempted to borrow someone else's ideas or plagiarize in any way because you're pressed for time, nervous about how you're doing in a class, or confused about the assignment, don't do it . The problems you think you're solving by plagiarizing are really minor compared to the problems you will create for yourself by plagiarizing. In every case, the consequences of plagiarism are much more serious than the consequences of turning in a paper late or turning in a paper you're not satisfied to have written.

The consequences of accidental plagiarism are equally daunting and should be avoided at all costs. As a member of an intellectual community you are expected to respect the ideas of others in the same way that you would respect any other property that didn't belong to you, and this is true whether you plagiarize on purpose or by accident. The best way to make sure you don't plagiarize due to confusion or carelessness is to 1) understand what you're doing when you write a paper and 2) follow a method that is systematic and careful as you do your research . In other words, if you have a clear sense of what question you're trying to answer and what knowledge you're building on, and if you keep careful, clear notes along the way, it's much easier to use sources effectively and responsibly and, most of all, to write a successful paper.

If you have questions about plagiarism at any point in your research or writing process, ask. It's always better to ask questions than it is to wait for an instructor to respond to work that you have turned in for a grade. Once you have turned in your final work, you will be held responsible for misuse of sources.

Keep Track of Your Sources; Save PDFs or Print Electronic Source

While it's easy enough to keep a stack of books or journal articles on your desk where you can easily refer back to them, it's just as important to keep track of electronic sources. When you save a PDF of a journal article, make sure you put it into a folder on your computer where you'll be able to find it. When you consult a website, log the URL in a separate document from the paper you're writing so that you'll be able to return to the website and cite it correctly. You should also print or save to PDF the relevant pages from any websites you use, making sure you note the complete URL and the date on which you printed the material. Because electronic sources aren't stable and websites can disappear without notice, beware of directing your readers to sources that might have disappeared. Check when the website you're using was last updated and update the URLs as you work and once again right before you submit your essay. If an electronic source disappears before you submit your work, you will need to decide whether or not to keep the source in your paper. If you have saved the source and can turn it in with your paper, you should do so. If you have not saved the source, you should consult your instructor about whether or not to use that source in your paper.

Keep Sources in Correct Context

Whenever you consult a source, you should make sure you understand the context, both of the ideas within a source and of the source itself. You should also be careful to consider the context in which a source was written. For example, a book of essays published by an organization with a political bias might not present an issue with adequate complexity for your project. You can learn more about how to understand a source’s context in the Evaluating Sources section of this guide.

The question of context can be more complicated when you're working with Internet sources than with print sources because you may see one article or post as separate from an entire website and use or interpret that page without fully understanding or representing its context. For example, a definition of "communism" taken from a website with a particular political agenda might provide one interpretation of the meaning of the word—but if you neglect to mention the context for that definition, you might use it as though it's unbiased when it isn't. If your web search takes you to a URL that’s part of a larger website, make sure to investigate and take notes on the context of the information you're citing.

Research can often turn out to be more time-consuming than you anticipate. Budget enough time to search for sources, to take notes, and to think about how to use the sources in your essay. Moments of carelessness are more common when you leave your essay until the last minute— and when you are tired or stressed. Honest mistakes can lead to charges of plagiarism just as dishonesty can; be careful when taking notes and when incorporating ideas and language from sources so you always know what language and ideas are yours and what belongs to a source.

Don't Cut and Paste: File and Label Your Sources

Keep your own writing and your sources separate.

Work with either the printed copy of your source(s) or (in the case of online sources) the copy you downloaded—not the online version—as you draft your essay. This precaution not only decreases the risk of plagiarism but also enables you to annotate your sources. Those annotations are an essential step both in understanding the sources and in distinguishing your own ideas from those of the sources.

Keep Your Notes and Your Draft Separate

Paraphrase carefully in your notes; acknowledge your sources explicitly when paraphrasing.

When you want to paraphrase material, it's a good idea first to paste the actual quotation into your notes (not directly into your draft) and then to paraphrase it (still in your notes). Putting the information in your own words will help you make sure that you've thought about what the source is saying and that you have a good reason for using it in your paper. Remember to use some form of notation in your notes to indicate what you've paraphrased and mention the author's name within the material you paraphrase. You should also include all citation information in your notes.

Avoid Reading a Classmate's Paper for Inspiration

If you're in a course that requires peer review or workshops of student drafts, you are going to read your classmates' work and discuss it. This is a productive way of exchanging ideas and getting feedback on your work. If you find, in the course of this work, that you wish to use someone else's idea at some point in your paper (you should never use someone else's idea as your thesis, but there may be times when a classmate's idea would work as a counterargument or other point in your paper), you must credit that person the same way you would credit any other source.

If you find yourself reading someone else's paper because you're stuck on an assignment and don't know how to proceed, you may end up creating a problem for yourself because you might unconsciously copy that person's ideas. When you're stuck, make an appointment with your instructor or go to the Writing Center for advice on how to develop your own ideas.

Don't Save Your Citations for Later

Never paraphrase or quote from a source without immediately adding a citation. You should add citations in your notes, in your response papers, in your drafts, and in your revisions. Without them, it's too easy to lose track of where you got a quotation or an idea and to end up inadvertently taking credit for material that's not your own.

Quote Your Sources Properly

Always use quotation marks for directly quoted material, even for short phrases and key terms.

Keep a Source Trail

As you write and revise your essay, make sure that you keep track of your sources in your notes and in each successive draft of your essay. You should begin this process early, even before you start writing your draft. Even after you've handed in your essay, keep all of your research notes and drafts. You ought to be able to reconstruct the path you took from your sources to your notes and from your notes to your drafts and revision. These careful records and clear boundaries between your writing and your sources will help you avoid plagiarism. And if you are called upon to explain your process to your instructor, you'll be able to retrace the path you took when thinking, researching, and writing, from the essay you submitted back through your drafts and to your sources.

• What Constitutes Plagiarism?
• The Exception: Common Knowledge
• Other Scenarios to Avoid
• Why Does it Matter if You Plagiarize?
• Harvard University Plagiarism Policy

PDFs for This Section

• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Online Library and Citation Tools