We’ve all got the stuff lying around our basements and garages — old cans of paint, cleansers, antifreeze, other unpleasant chemicals. But how do you get rid of it? That question from a couple of commenters in this week’s open discussion thread prompted me to find out.
I talked to DPW Supervisor Karen Galligan. She told me the town holds an annual Hazardous Waste Day (do you think Hallmark make a card for this?) at the Transfer Station — this year’s will be on October 17. You can drop off most all types of household hazardous waste as long as it has a label. You’re not permitted to dump hazardous waste that’s not “residential by nature,” meaning materials like asbestos, explosives, radioactive materials, and PCBs.
There’s no limit to the amount of material you can bring, but they won’t accept containers larger than five gallons.
You have to have a valid Transfer Station sticker to take part in Hazardous Waste Day, but other than the cost of the sticker, there is no additional charge for most items. The exception is CRTs which cost a minimum of $10 to recycle.
You don’t have to wait for Hazardous Waste Day to dispose of some material. Best Buy takes TVs and CRT monitors (among other electronics), and you can recycle used motor oil at a number of nearby places.
(Photo by joguldi)
