Your backyard

Everyone wants to know how healthy the environment is around their home or in "their backyard." How clean is the air? Is the water safe to drink? How environmentally responsible is that factory two blocks from your house?

The MPCA's Web site that will help you learn more about the health of your backyard. You can also access various databases and other information about pollutants that may affect the environment. And, we've included information about what you can do to help protect your part of Minnesota's environment in your backyard.

Hazardous wastes generated in Minnesota

• Reported Toxic Chemical Releases
• Minnesota Toxic Release Inventory and Pollution Prevention Progress Report
• Hazardous Waste
• Air Pollutants
• Search Your Community(EPA)

What does the MPCA do to check on Our environment?

The MPCA protects Minnesota's environment through monitoring environmental quality and enforcing environmental regulations. You can learn more about the MPCA's monitoring work on the following pages on this Web site:

• Environmental Data
• Environmental Indicators
• Environmental Monitoring
• Environmental Regulations

What you can do to protect your environment

In your house:

• Buy less toxic or nontoxic cleaning materials.
• Properly dispose of all hazardous household materials, from cleansers to fluorescent tubes to paints.
• Recycle your recyclables! From pop cans to newspapers.
• Compost your kitchen scraps.
• Don't waste water.
• Don't waste energy. Turn off lights when they're not in use. And, turn your thermostat down when you're not at home.
• Learn more about saving energy in your home (EPA)

In your yard:

• Compost your leaves and grass clippings.
• Follow the directions for use on all lawn and garden chemicals.
• Properly dispose of all lawn and garden chemicals and their containers.
• Use nontoxic fertilizers and weed control products.
• Learn about stewardship in your backyard on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Web site.

In your garage

• Keep your motorized garden equipment well tuned and in good operating condition. Small engines can add alot of air pollutants -- especially engines that aren't properly tuned up.
• Avoid using motorized lawn and garden equipment, when possible. Use a push mower and hand-operated trimmers and rakes. It's quieter, less stinky and you get a good workout at the same time.
• Don't pour any used oil or antifreeze down your sewer drain! One pint of used motor oil can contaminate thousands of gallons of water, making it unfit to drink.

In your car

• Purchase and use the most fuel efficient vehicle that meets your needs.
• Keep your car tuned up and in good working condition.
• Don't drive more than you need to. Most air pollutants that we breathe comes from cars!
• Carpool, take the bus, ride your bike and walk whenever you can.
• Learn about other ways to reduce vehicle pollution at our motor vehicle page.
• Learn about commuting: Challenge your notion about commuting (fact sheet)

At your cabin

• Keep your septic system well maintained and regularly cleaned
• Be careful when you fill your boat engine with gas -- don't spill any into the lake.
• Properly dispose of waste.
• Avoid using lawn chemicals near lakes.
• Don't spray for mosquitoes. Use citronella candles and other nontoxic repellants. Build a screened-in porch.
• Don't disturb nesting wildlife -- they need a quiet place to raise their young.
• Learn how to landscape your lakeshore to protect the environment. Go to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Web site on Restoring Your Shore.

Links to related sites

• Green Guardian

• Reduce.org -- Reduce Waste: If not you, who?

• Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

• SEEK - Directory of Minnesota Environmental Education Resources