Let’s look at a bottle of toner. You’ve finished half of it, but the other half is old and now smells bad. You pour it down the drain.

Your discarded toner goes to the waste water system, or a local treatment plant – which filters the water. The chemicals in your toner aren’t filtered and end up in the surface and ground water, slowly but surely accumulating over years.

Many pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have been labeled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as “emerging contaminants of concern” for fish and aquatic life. With potentially irreversible effects on our environment as they accumulate and become more and more toxic, these chemicals have long-term effects on the endocrine system in fish, leading to reproductive and behavioral disorders as well as lowered immune system functionality. The poisoned fish, with high traces of these toxic chemicals, make it into your food supply. You eat these fish and the chemicals enter your body, potentially causing you harm.

Some of these potentially dangerous chemicals are:

Parabens: these preservatives are endocrine disruptors and found in almost all cosmetic and personal care products.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate: is used to create lather in shampoos, body washes, and face washes, but is an environmental toxin (according to the Environmental Working Group). As it is a pesticide, it also causes damage to your internal organs.

Phthalates: the most frequent chemical found in fish samples and fragrances, these are endocrine disrupters and there is no requirement for them to be mentioned on labels.

What can you do? Support and buy organic products with only truly natural ingredients that you can pronounce. Instead of introducing more potentially lethal chemicals into the drain every time you take a shower or wash your hands, introduce something like neem, which is harmless, and an amazing skin care ingredient, to you, wildlife, and the environment!

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