Household Hazardous Waste Day (& Electronic Recycling) – Oct 19

Above: If you’ve been looking forward to Household Hazardous Waste Day to clean out your garage/shed, prepare to load up your car/truck and head to the Transfer Station a week from Saturday. But note the event limitations. (photo by Beth Melo)

Southborough’s annual day for residents to rid themselves of “Household Hazardous Waste” is next week. While disposing of the specified items is free, the event is limited to those who have current, valid Transfer Station permit stickers.

[Note: If you don’t have a current permit for using the Transfer Station, click here for details on getting one.]

From 9:00 am – noon on October 19th, bring your related items to the Public Works Garage down the hill from the Transfer Station. (Not the hopper!)

The disposal day is combined with an electronic recycling event for TVs and computer monitors. That isn’t free. Scroll down for fee details (or click on flyer right.)

Not every hazardous item is welcome under the Household Hazardous Waste day. The Town will not accept:

Gas Cylinders, Explosive Materials, Motor Oil, Radioactive Materials, Infectious and Biological Wastes, Prescription Medicines/Syringes, Esters, Unknown Materials, Full Drums, Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Asbestos, Medical Waste, Shock Sensitive Materials and Reactive Chemicals

[Note: You can dispose of Prescription Medicines/Syringes in the dedicated container in the Public Safety Building lobby at 32 Cordaville Road, just down the street.]

Also not to be brought to the DPW garage – Latex paint and Alkaline batteries. That’s because they are on the non-hazardous list of materials accepted as regular waste you can toss in the hopper. (Though, according to Transfer Station rules, the latex paint must be dry first. The state recommends drying wet paint by adding kitty litter or sand to the can. It also asks for the can lids to be removed before disposing.) 

For a reminder of what items are allowed during normal Transfer Station hours, click here for the rules. 

As for the hazardous items you can dispose of that day, even they have quantity limits.

The flyer states that each household can bring 5 Gallons (or equivalent) of the following items to be disposed of: 

Electronic Recycling

Below are the details on the electronic recycling you can do at the same time and place:

CRT’s will be accepted for a Fee — but only by checks, made out as payable to Veolia.

• $20/Computer Monitor & TV up to 25″
• $30/TV Computer Monitor & TV  over 25″