Environmental Progress - Fall 1999

Household Hazardous Waste Collection Nets 566 Drums for Disposal

As usual, unwanted paint was a big part of the material discarded.

Everything from under the kitchen sink turns up at household hazardous waste pickups

Approximately half (954) of those dropping off items said they were also bringing in material for a relative or friend, compared to 1,015 who brought only their own hazardous domestic waste.

Traditionally, unwanted or leftover paint is a major component at the household hazardous waste collections. In Springfield, 1,225 of the 1,969 vehicles passing through the collection lanes last October had paint for disposal--enough of it to fill 164 of the slightly more than 566 fifty-five gallon drums of waste generated. Latex paint is recycled; oil based paints are fuel-blended.

Adhesives and sealers, poisons and pesticides

The largest single category of household waste was adhesives and sealers, which accounted for 173.9 of the total drums. These materials are disposed of by incineration. Enough poisons and pesticides to fill almost 80 drums were dropped off, for later treatment or incineration.

Waste must be sorted before final disposal.

Aerosols filled more than 40 drums, and there were10.8 drums of fluorescent lamps. Paint aerosols can be recycled; poison/pesticide aerosols are incinerated. The fluorescent lamps were recycled.

Other commonly found household items that can pose disposal problems, and which were turned in during the collection, include flammable solvents, antifreeze, corrosives, motor oil, oxidizers, household batteries and asbestos among other things. Once sorted by workers for the IEPA contractor, the materials were recycled, fuel blended, incinerated, given aqueous treatment or landfilled.

Discarded materials were sorted and packeted for appropriate disposal

Springfield's population of 105,117 equates to 45,806 households eligible to participate. Final figures indicate the fairgrounds turnout represented a little more than 6 percent of the households, at an estimated cost per house- hold of $59.55. The total cost of the collection was $174,234.50, with Sangamon County to pay $25,000 as its share