Saturday, March 1, 2008

Annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Set For March 29

Lawrence Countians who plan to welcome warmer weather with some spring cleaning will have a convenient opportunity to safely dispose of household hazardous waste in a few weeks.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has approved Lawrence County’s request to hold a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event on Saturday, March 29, 2008 from 8 until noon at the Lawrence County Solid Waste Transfer Station on Baler Drive in Lawrenceburg. The service is free and open to all Tennessee households.

HHW is as any unwanted or spent household product that can catch fire easily (flammable), eat away at or irritate living tissue (corrosive), react violently with water or other chemicals (reactive), or is poisonous to humans and animals (toxic). Usable household products may exhibit hazardous properties, but until they become a waste they are not appropriate for the household hazardous waste program.

Pesticides, household cleaners, pool chemicals, antifreeze, and oil-based paints are examples of waste which can be disposed of at the collection site. Latex paint may be dried up and thrown away with regular household garbage. In addition, alkaline batteries no longer contain mercury and can be thrown away as well.

The day of the event, load the unwanted materials into your trunk or the back of your truck. For safety, don’t mix materials, keep them in their original containers, double package any leaking containers, and place any breakable containers in a box, cushioned with newspaper. When you get to the event you will be surveyed to find out what county you live in and where you learned about the event.

Only households may use the service to dispose of hazardous wastes. No commercial, institutional, or agri-business waste will be accepted. Additionally, NO explosives, ammunition, radioactive waste (including smoke detectors), or medical waste will be accepted.

Tennessee's Mobile Collection Service has been in operation since 1993. Since then, there have been over 875 one-day collections. Over 226,000 Tennessee families have brought in almost 16 million pounds of household hazardous waste for proper disposal. The program is funded by a $0.95 per ton surcharge on waste entering landfills.

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