Responsibility for environmental problems is shifting from governments and large companies to individual households as consumers become more selective of products they purchase.

At Shaver's Creek Environmental Center Sunday, about 40 area residents learned about hazardous household products and non-toxic alternatives during a "Household Hazardous Waste" program.

"If you can buy a non-hazardous product, you may be better off," Program Director Jeff Feldman said, adding labels such as "biodegradable" and "non-toxic" are vague and not regulatory words.

Feldman recommended reading product labels and watching for "signal words" -- poison, caution, danger, warning, irritant, caustic, volatile and explosive -- to avoid purchasing hazardous products.

Hazardous products are defined in four categories:

-- Flammable -- items that catch fire easily.

-- Reactive -- items that become dangerous when mixed with other chemicals.

-- Corrosive -- items that eat away living tissue.

-- Toxic -- items that are poisonous to living organisms.

According to federal government standards, products need only be 15 percent biodegradable to merit the label of biodegradable, Feldman said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources offers a free guide on hazardous household wastes. Several books and catalogs also are available at Shaver's Creek. This literature describes alternative products and recipes for non-toxic, non-hazardous cleaning agents.

Alternatives for cleaning agents include common non-toxic household items such as vinegar, water, lemon juice, salt and baking soda.

Home use of natural products is less harmful to nature than a synthetic product for three reasons, Feldman said. Chemical factory production-related pollution, packaging waste and danger to a child in case of consumption would all decrease, he said.

"It's frustrating and worrying knowing about environmental problems; finding alternatives in my own home is very satisfying," said Monica Zeigler, a State College resident.

Shaver's Creek soon will be providing an alternative for the paper/plastic shopping bag choice that most grocery stores offer. Cotton string bags will be sold within the month for less than $8 at Shaver's Creek, Feldman said. These reusable bags do not contribute to increasing landfills, such as paper and plastic products.

Mindy Lietzell, market manager for Bi-Lo, Hills Plaza, said customers would be able to bring their own bags "because . . . it would benefit the store and everyone else environmentally."