April 6, 2008
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Got hazardous waste?
Many people don’t realize how much of what we use, buy and then discard in our normal trash is considered hazardous waste. Meaning, the stuff needs special handling for disposal and shouldn’t be lumped in with your normal trash and simply dumped at the local landfill. Things like unused paint, motor oil, antifreeze, flourescent bulbs, batteries, mercury switches, drain cleaners, insecticides, bug-sprays, asphalt sealers, disinfectants, lighter fluid and aerosol cans need special hazardous waste disposal handling.
In the spirit of being green (and it being the month of Earth Day), please consider recycling your hazardous waste at your local recycling station. If you think it’ll take too much time or be too much of a hassle, don’t be! At least in Bergen County, it was smooth as silk.
I just got back from one of Bergen County Utilities Authority’s many hazardous waste collection events (held 8 times this year in several locations in Bergen County). It was a cinch. It opened at 9:00 AM and I was there by 9:20. There were already 2 lines of cars stretching about 75-100, but the line ran smoothly. I queued for about 20 minutes until I got to the drop-off point. You simply pop open your trunk or car door and they take everything out of the car for you. It went so fast. 20-30 minutes (depending on your drive to the location) on a Sunday morning is nothing compared to the good you’ll be doing for the environment.
NJ has programs per county (look it up). I’m sure your state has the same. See you at the next hazardous waste recycling event!
Comments (10)
Way to go. I remember Earth Day in elementary school. We’d go pick up trash at the beach or something.
props about going green. i remember 4/22 only b/c a friend in hs was very into protecting the environment. we do recycle the regulars but i am guilty of throwing away some of this hazardous waste (batteries!) but sometimes feel the slightest better when trash is compacted in the garbage disposal (makes me think i reduced the landfill by just that much). i did recently buy a “green bag” tho, to avoid using so many plastic bags at the supermarket. great reminder, tony.
We were able to do something similar to that last year with a bunch of house paint left behind by the previous owner. It was a blessing, for both us and the environment.
I got the listing for this year’s drop off times. Not that we’ll have a bunch this year, but at least if we need to, we know where to go!
it feels so good to recycle, doesn’t it?
that’s cool, dude. i think my city has a program with a drop-off every once in a while.
just curious, was there a sign telling people not to idle their engine while queuing for the drop-off? or did the line move quickly enough that you couldn’t shut the engine off? man, but think about how much greenhouse gases the cars in the queue let out while waiting in line for 20-30 min….
@booyahman - I actually thought about shutting down my engine, but we kept on moving. We didn’t idle for more than 30-60 seconds, mostly below 15 seconds, So, it would have done significant damage (starting and stopping the engine) to the engine, more so than the what harm it would have saved the environment.
@myprettypictures - Yes, it does!
You should throw unused latex paint in the garbarge (dry). It’s only oil-based paint that requires special disposal.
http://www.mcmua.com/HazardousWaste/HHWDisposalDays.htm
@kenneth_liu1 - Cool that Morris County also has such recycle days! For Bergen (and especially Teaneck), they’re really fine-happy with garbage and recycling. Unfortunately, I can only dump emptied-AND-dried latex paint canisters in the regular dumpsters. Most of the 15 cans the former owner (jerk) of my condo left in the storage room were at least half-filled and none were dried yet. Good thing, our NJ counties are pretty serious about these hazardous waste recycling programs. I’m actually encouraged.
I can’t thank
Phoenix medical waste disposal enough for their excellent customer service and unbelievable pricing. We didn’t know that we had choices when it came to our sharps and medical waste service provider.