Recycling 101 Hazardous Waste collection October 1

Hazardous Waste day in Fillmore County is almost here again. This year’s event will take place on Tuesday, October 1, from noon until 5 p.m. As always, we are expecting this to be a very busy day. Every time we have this event, there is always a bit of confusion about what materials we accept during the event for free and which ones you need to pay to get rid of. I also wanted to take some time to answer some of the most common questions and remind everyone of some things that help to speed up the process and lower your wait time in line. 

Every year, we see a large number of people who wait in line to get rid of hazardous waste that they could have gotten rid of at our facility any time we are open. Motor oil and antifreeze can be disposed of for free year-round during facility operating hours. Oil filters, appliances, electronics, televisions and lightbulbs can be disposed of for a charge year round as well. Remember, if you bring appliances, electronics, light bulbs, oil filters or landfill materials to get rid of on hazardous waste day, you will still be required to pay for disposal and will likely need to wait in a second line after getting rid of your hazardous materials. 

Below are some of the most common questions we get asked every year and our answers:

1. I am unable to make it to the hazardous waste collection event can I drop my materials off early, or at a different time?

While we understand that everyone has a busy schedule we cannot accept early or late drop-offs of hazardous materials. If you are not able to make the event, check with friends and neighbors to see if they would be willing to drop off your materials for you. 

2. My business has a large quantity of a hazardous material, can I bring that in during this event?

Our collection event is only for residential hazardous waste and residential quantities of waste. If the waste you are disposing of was generated by a business operation, the business is responsible for disposing of the material properly. If you need guidance on how to get rid of a business generated hazardous waste we can offer the names of some companies that can help.

3. I have an old television that I would like to get rid of, can I get rid of this for free during the hazardous waste collection?

There is a flat fee of $15 to dispose of “screens” in Fillmore County. This includes, computer monitors, televisions, and laptops. While you can certainly bring your screens to dispose of during the hazardous waste collection event, you will still be required to pay the disposal fee and will likely end up waiting in a second line to dispose of these materials. 

Finally, I would like to end with some general reminders that help to speed up the process and make the collection event run a bit smoother. Every year, we have a large number of people line up early for this event. In the past, this has caused a safety hazard because the line can quickly backup onto Highway 52. Arriving early guarantees that you will wait in line, but if people waited until noon to begin showing up, they would likely wait less time in line and wouldn’t have the safety hazard of delaying traffic on Highway 52. In addition, please remember to have all your materials in containers (like cardboard boxes) that you don’t want back. It is much quicker to pull out boxes of materials rather than pulling out individual items one by one. 

As always, if you have any questions leading up to this event please give the resource recovery center a call at (507) 765-4704. We would be happy to answer any questions you have about what items we accept for disposal during the event.