Tip 4: Your Waste
6 Resources
The wastewater and sewage that drain from inside your house is treated and cleaned before it enters the ocean, but the storm drains in the street outside your home flow directly to the ocean, rivers, and lakes without any treatment. It is therefore very important that no one be allowed to dump waste of any kind onto street surfaces, drainage pipes and ditches, or into storm drains, they are only for rainwater.
By properly disposing of your household waste through your county recycling and household hazardous waste disposal programs you will help to ensure that contaminants from your waste do not contaminate stormwater.
Fact:
Cigarette butts, which can contain 165 toxic chemicals, are the most littered item in our waste stream. Worldwide, 4.3 trillion are littered annually!
What you
Can
Do
- Stormdrains are for rain water only and dumping into it is illegal
- If you see someone dumping waste onto your street surface, please contact your local code enforcement officer
- Take note of storm drain markers in your neighborhood, they are everywhere
- When discarding oil, cleaners, chemicals, visit your County’s waste management website for locations, educational information about programs and best management practices.
- If you live in Broome County click here for more information.
- If you live in Tioga County click here for more information.
Be In
The
Know
Below is a list of resources to support stormwater conservation for your waste.