As you prepare to celebrate the Fourth of July, city officials say make sure you properly clean up the spent fireworks. Erin Kubicek is an environmental health educator for LTU and says don’t leave anything in the street.
“When you leave all of the fireworks debris and all of the bits and pieces on the ground and then it rains, all of that can get washed into the storm drain and then end up in our streams and lakes.” She tells KLIN News there’s a lot of heavy metals and chemicals like perchlorate that are in fireworks.
When they get released into the water it can impact fish and other aquatic life. Willa DiConstanzo is the Waste Diversion Coordinator for the City of Lincoln and says be sure that you soak all of the fireworks are completely out by soaking them in a bucket of water…