Pragmatic Environmentalism

An exploration of urban sustainability.

How to Clean up a Broken Thermometer February 8, 2010

Jason was sick this weekend, and while he was shaking down the thermometer, it slipped out of his hand, flew across the room, and broke into a zillion pieces—or so I thought. It was actually four pieces of glass and a zillion tiny beads of mercury.

I had no idea how to clean up a broken thermometer; I just knew that mercury was hazardous. So I immediately went to the EPA website, and what I found out was terrifying. Here are some of their directions for cleanup:

  • “Have everyone else leave the area…. Open all windows and doors to the outside; shut all doors to other parts of the house.”
  • “If a spill occurs on carpet, curtains, upholstery or other absorbent surfaces, these contaminated items should be thrown away.”
  • “Keep the area well ventilated to the outside (i.e., windows open and fans in exterior windows running) for at least 24 hours after your successful cleanup. Continue to keep pets and children out of cleanup area.”
  • “Never use a vacuum cleaner to clean up mercury. The vacuum will put mercury into the air and increase exposure.”
  • “Never wash clothing or other items that have come in direct contact with mercury in a washing machine, because mercury may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.”

Follow the link above for full instructions. But you get the drift: we had to throw away our area rug, take a couple hours tracking down every single bead of mercury with tape, and spend a day in the bedroom with the cats while the living room aired out. And I’m still not entirely sure that we got it all.

Our new digital thermometer. It takes just 10 seconds to register. And no mercury!

I know, I know, who has a mercury thermometer anymore anyway? We got ours a good 12 years ago, before we knew there was anything wrong with them. And if I’d known cleanup would be this much of a hassle, I would have recycled it long ago, while it  was still whole.

I think we’ll have to drop off the mercury-tainted trash at the Recycling Drop-Off Center the next time it’s open. But just to be sure I’ve emailed the DPW to ask. I’ll keep you posted.

 

Friday Green Links – 2/5/10 February 6, 2010

Filed under: links — Brenda Pike @ 5:51 pm
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Okay, okay, so these are actually Saturday green links. My only defense is that Jason has the flu and he’s a very demanding patient. On to the links:

As always, if you see something this week that I might be interested in, send it my way.

 

Big Belly Update February 3, 2010

I have to admit, I feel kind of bad trashing the Big Belly solar compactors that have been popping up around the city. In theory they’re good. And while there are no replacements yet for the ones on Newbury Street or Mass. Ave., I’ve seen some new models in Copley, Central, and Harvard squares. These ones are a new design and seem to be getting much less disgusting.

I’m still not a fan of touching the handles, though. Do you hear me, Big Belly? I want motion detectors or foot pedals! Oh, well. Until a newer model comes out I guess I’ll just have to carry hand sanitizer….

 

Festival of Frugality #215 February 1, 2010

I’m happy to host the Festival of Frugality this week. Back when we graduated from college, Jason and I were $100,000 in debt, and personal finance bloggers were a great source of advice and inspiration. Nine years later, we’ve paid off all our debt (yay!), but a lot of their frugal tips can be applicable to our conservation goals, as well.

There were a lot of submissions this week, so I’ve broken them into categories. I obviously don’t agree with the content of all of them, but here are four of my favorites:

Using Less

Smart Shopping

Budgeting

Retirement

Credit

Computers

Vacations

Valentine’s Day

Goals

Recurring Expenses

Phew—that’s a lot of info! Thanks to the Ultimate Money Blog for hosting last week, and check out the festival home page for more info on how to submit or host.

 

Friday Green Links – 1/29/10 January 29, 2010

Filed under: links — Brenda Pike @ 6:00 pm
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A lot of interesting stuff this week. As always, if you come across anything you think I might like, shoot it my way.

In other news, I’m getting How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist from a book giveaway at The Good Human. It’s not an environmental book, per se, so I won’t be reviewing it on here, but look for it on my GoodReads feed.