The idea of having “hazardous waste” around sounds scary, but an event scheduled next Saturday in Mount Airy will provide a means of getting rid of the household variety.
This involves the annual Household Hazardous Waste and Pesticide Collection day at Veterans Memorial Park.
Items can be brought to the park at 691 W. Lebanon St. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The annual collection event is jointly hosted by the Surry Center of N.C. Cooperative Extension, Surry County Public Works and the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
It is an opportunity for residents to dispose of unwanted or no-longer-needed substances that might be in or around the home including paints and paint strippers, thinners, weed killers, pesticides, solvents including drain solvents, gasoline, acids and pool chemicals.
“This is stuff that can’t go into the landfill,” Tim Shores of Surry County Public Works explained Friday.
“We are solid waste and this is liquid,” he said of materials accepted at that facility compared to what can be disposed of next Saturday.
All containers should be labeled, lids closed tightly and glass bottles cushioned.
Organizers stress that the collection event is for household waste only, with no commercial waste to be allowed.
Shores mentioned that an outside company is involved in the collection and removal of the waste products received.
“That is their specialty,” he said.
Shores added that many local residents tend to take advantage of the opportunity to get rid of hazardous waste from homes.
“The volume is actually pretty good,” he said of the amounts received from year to year
Since the disposal project is an expensive endeavor, the flow is tracked to evaluate its success.
“And it goes over fairly well,” Shores said.
Last year the event allowed 1,494 pounds of unwanted pesticides and 20,366 pounds of household hazardous waste to be safely disposed of, according to figures from the Surry Center of N.C. Cooperative Extension.
This represented savings put at a conservative value of $218,600, compared to the cost of what those who participated in the event would normally have paid to dispose of the waste.
Items that shouldn’t be brought to the collection event include ammunition/explosives, radioactive materials, medicine and syringes, liquid propane and propane cylinders, infectious waste and automotive-type batteries.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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