SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah -- Old cans of paint, cleansers and motor oil can really pile up--making your garage a toxic waste dump. To help residents safely and easily throw out those dangerous chemicals, Salt lake County is kicking off their household hazardous waste collections.
“We're collecting electronics, paint, batteries, toxic chemicals such as pesticides, fertilizers, gas, antifreeze--anything you can think of that's at your home,” said Eric Michaels, who is a Salt Lake County Household Hazardous Waste Coordinator.
Once your household hazards are collected, it's as easy as driving up and popping the trunk.
“It's great that I'm getting it out of the house, and it's being disposed of properly and not going in the water system; it's not going in the landfill, it's just getting taken care of,” said Zack Douglas of Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake County say too many people either leave the chemicals in their home or dispose of them incorrectly.
“We want to prevent it from ending up in the drinking water, flushing it down the toilet or putting it down a drain--the water treatment plants can't handle it as well, preventing it from going in the landfill and prevent any failures of it ending up in the landfill,” Michaels said.
“It feels really good because we have little grandchildren running around in all kinds of places, and good to get it out of the way,” said Joel Green of Salt Lake City.
On Thursday, hundreds of people dropped off more than 10,000 pounds of hazardous waste.
“There's a lot of really good coming out of this where people can improve the safety conditions at their home for their kids and family and neighbors and not risk a chemical accident in their neighborhood,” said Jeff Salt with the Jordan River Restoration Network.
The hazardous waste is then disposed of or used for something else.
“We're trying to divert as much as we can from disposal and incineration to reuse, we bring good latex paint to the restore, shop chemicals to shop classes at high schools," Michaels said.
The community collection events will be held most Thursday's throughout the summer. You can see a complete schedule by clicking here.
