Today’s article is the autumn edition of your invitation to participate in Hazardous Household Waste collection day. The fall HHW in Fillmore County is scheduled for the first Tuesday in October, that being the 4th this year. The hours for the collection will be from noon until 5 p.m. The following paragraphs have a partial listing of the hazardous waste Fillmore County will accept free of charge on that day. If you miss this event, the next spring collection day is scheduled for May of 2017.
Over the years, unwanted paint has been the main item collected during Hazardous Household Waste events. Partially used cans of paint are considered hazardous waste and must be disposed of properly. Latex and oil base paint will both be accepted along with paint thinners, wood preservatives, adhesives, epoxy, glue, stains, and varnishes. If you have paint cans that are empty and dry, please do not bring them to us, but instead include them with your landfill garbage. For your safety and the safety of the people working at the event, paint cans that are rusted and leaking should be placed into another container or a plastic bag or two.
Aerosol cans, oven cleaners, antifreeze, lawn care products, bug killers, weed killers, all forms of rodent poison, motor oil, outdated fuel (gasoline and diesel), adhesives, and tar are all hazardous household waste. You don’t want them stored in your garage, under your sink, or in your basement, or for that matter, dumped down a gopher hole in a remote site on your property. There are still some mercury thermometers floating around out there. Please bring them to us and we will gladly take them for correct disposal.
There are thousands and thousands of button batteries used by Fillmore County residents each year. Most of them are finding their way into landfills. Button batteries, like the kind used in hearing aids, even though quite small, contain some not-so-nice elements that may sooner or later, find their way into our drinking water. A set of hearing aids will use up to a hundred batteries each year, which will account for a sizable amount of poison.
Burning batteries have been known to explode and cause serious injury. When batteries are burned, they send poisons into the air to fall back to earth with different forms of precipitation. These poisons are polluting our lakes, streams, fields and forests and sooner or later will find their way into humans by way of the food chain. The same is true for rechargeable batteries that contain cadmium, lithium, lead, and several other elements you don’t really need accumulating in your body. If a battery is rechargeable, it must be recycled.
If you have a neighbor or two who are unable to attend this event, check with them to see if they have any items that need disposing and bring those items along with yours. They need to get that stuff out of their house. That is why we classify these materials as hazardous.
As usual, explosives, medical waste, business waste, and radioactive waste will not be accepted. There will be the usual charge for tube lights, CFLs, ballast, tires, appliances, and e-waste, but this may be a good day to get rid of these things, as well. You will find a more complete list of items that will be accepted in a notice found in the Fillmore County Journal in a week or two.
If you have any questions concerning the collection of Hazardous Household Waste in Fillmore County, please don’t hesitate to call the Resource Recovery Center at 765-4704 or e-mail me at lpaulson@co.fillmore.mn.us.
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