Every drop of water we use at home and work drains into San Francisco Bay. Wastewater travels from kitchens and bathrooms to wastewater treatment plants before it’s discharged to the Bay. Treatment can remove many pollutants, but some complex chemicals may resist degradation and pass through to the Bay. 

Stormwater from roads, sidewalks and gardens flows into storm drains and directly into creeks and the Bay without treatment. (Except in San Francisco, where some stormwater is treated at wastewater treatment plants.) Stormwater carries all sorts of things straight to our creeks and the Bay: herbicides and pesticides from lawns and gardens, trash, pet waste, soap from car washing, and everything else that doesn’t get disposed of properly.

Because wastewater and stormwater can carry pollutants from everyday activities like cooking, gardening, maintaining your car, and even spring-cleaning your garage and medicine cabinet, it’s important to prevent pollution at the source. 

In Your Home

Toilets Aren’t Trash Cans

Toilets are often misused as easy trash cans. Cotton swabs, dental floss, wet wipes and menstrual products should never be flushed, even if the packaging says it’s okay. They belong in the trash.

See what else doesn’t belong in the toilet.

Keep all Fats, Cooking Oils & Grease (FOG) Out of the Sink

When grease is poured down sinks it can solidify and cause sewer backups into houses or onto streets. Never pour fats, oil, or grease down drains, even if you have a garbage disposal.

Learn how to properly handle FOG. 

Safely Dispose of Unwanted Medications

Medications that are flushed down toilets or poured down drains pollute waterways, including the San Francisco Bay. The presence of pharmaceutical compounds in treated wastewater is a growing environmental concern.

Find a safe disposal location for your unwanted pills. 

Reconsider Topical Flea and Tick Medicine for Your Pets

To avoid exposing pets, your family, and Bay Area waterways to toxic pesticides from harmful chemicals, use sound flea and tick prevention measures and consider oral medications instead of topical treatments.

Learn what the science shows. 

Try Non-Toxic Soaps & Cleaners

Soaps and cleaners often contain harsh chemicals that become pollutants when they enter waterways and the Bay through our stormwater and sewer systems. Instead, try environmentally-friendly cleaners. The selection and quality keeps growing! Find out how to make your own cleaners.

Explore the CleanIt! Guide and links to safer cleaning products in the Resources section. 

Reconsider Indoor Fires 

Burning wood and other items in your fireplace can create smoke full of carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde, and dioxin. These toxic elements not only pollute our air, they also pollute local waters. Dioxin (a byproduct of incineration) is of particular concern because it has been characterized by the Environmental Protection Agency as a likely human carcinogen that increases the risk of cancer.

Here are ways you can help to reduce dioxin and other pollutants in the environment:

• Never burn wrapping paper, painted wood, particle board, plastics, Styrofoam or other trash.
• Switch from a traditional wood-burning fireplace to a natural-gas device, an EPA-certified wood stove, or a pellet stove to reduce emissions.
• Burn manufactured logs instead of wood in your fireplace. They burn cleaner, with substantially lower emissions of dioxin and other pollutants. Note: Follow instructions on the logs; some are not suitable for wood stoves or fireplace inserts.
• If you burn wood, make sure it is completely dry. Wet wood burns less efficiently and causes more pollution.
• Keep your fireplace or stove well maintained to improve air flow and reduce emissions.
• If you must burn, check for Spare the Air alerts. You could be fined for burning on a Spare the Air day. Visit SpareTheAir.org for information.

Properly Dispose of Hazardous Waste

Clean out the garage! Dispose of unused paints, solvents, and cleaners at your local household hazardous waste collection facility. Never pour these down any indoor or outdoor drain.

Learn more about properly getting rid of hazardous materials. 

Around Your Home

Keep Your Car and the Bay Clean

Give yourself a break – use a commercial car wash to avoid polluted runoff. If you change your own motor oil, be sure to recycle it at a convenient site near you. Learn more. 

Scoop the Poop

Always pick up pet waste, wrap it, and throw it in the trash. 

Explore Bay-friendly Gardening Techniques

Residential pesticide use by homeowners and pest control services is a large source of pesticide pollution in San Francisco Bay.

Explore options for healthier alternatives. 

Properly Secure Your Trash and Recycling

Be sure all trash and recyclables are in appropriate bins with lids and/or secured so light-weight items don’t get carried away by the wind. Trash and bottles and cans can clog storm drains, creating flooding problems during storm season and, if washed down, can pollute creeks and the Bay.

Keep Your Storm Drain Clear

Storm drains are the entryway from our streets to our Bay and some sewer systems. They can get clogged with litter and leaves, which may cause neighborhood flooding and pollute our waterways. Help keep nearby storm drains clean by frequently clearing them of debris.

Resources