Did you participate in the Fillmore County Hazardous Household Waste Collection held recently? The weather was exceptionally nice and gave many of you the opportunity to clear a lot of that unwanted stuff out of your homes.
How many visitors did we have? According to the surveys completed by one person in each vehicle, 161 vehicles brought hazardous waste for proper disposal. Those vehicles brought waste from 299 households. Yes, there were vehicles that brought hazardous waste from several to many of their neighbors who were unable to attend the party.
Twenty four 55-gallon barrels were filled with aerosol cans, unwanted and outdated fuel, as well as items that were toxic, corrosive, or flammable. We collected hundreds of rechargeable and button batteries. However, thousands continue to find their way into landfill garbage.
Twelve large boxes of paint totaling nearly 2,000 gallons were brought for disposal. Many people wonder what happens to all that paint. First, the cans are separated into boxes of oil based and water based paint here in Preston. Then, the water based is sent to be made into new latex paint. The oil based paint is not made into new paint, but instead, a lot of it is burned as fuel for power plants.
Three mercury thermometers were brought to us and are no longer a hazard to the home owners. We know there are still a few floating around out there, so round them up and bring them to the next HHW day that will be held the first Tuesday of May 2017.
Last month, I had the opportunity to chat with the Kiwanis Club of Spring Valley. We had a delicious meal and spent time conversing about the importance of recycling. A lot of very interesting questions were asked and recycling information was shared. If you would like to have me visit with your group, please don’t hesitate to contact me at lpaulson@co.fillmore.mn.us. The price has not gone up in the last five years…. Still free !
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