Essex County To Host 'Hazardous Household Waste' Collection Day

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Are you an Essex County resident with an unwanted stockpile of household cleaners, chemicals and other potentially hazardous “household waste?” Here’s your chance to get rid of it.

On Saturday, May 1, Essex County will be holding a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day in partnership with the Essex County Utilities Authority.

The event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Essex County Public Works Department, 99 West Bradford Avenue in Cedar Grove.

The event is for Essex County residents only. Residents are not charged when they bring materials, but they must provide proof of residency at the site. Commercial businesses may not drop off materials. For more information, call the Essex County Utilities Authority at 973-792-9060 or visit www.ecuanj.com.

According to county officials, materials being collected will include pesticides and herbicides, paint thinners and solvents, oil-based paints and stains, chemistry sets, barbecue propane tanks, pool chemicals, automotive fluids such as antifreeze, motor oil and steering fluid, darkroom and photographic chemicals, lithium and NiCad batteries, fluorescent light bulbs and ballasts, mercury and products containing mercury, gasoline and kerosene, household cleaning fluids, car batteries, home fire extinguishers, driveway sealer and aerosol spray paints.

All containers must be five gallons or smaller, or 10 pounds or lighter, officials said.

The following items will not be collected, officials added:

• latex paint (which can be dried and disposed of with regular waste)
• unlabeled or unidentifiable materials
• asbestos
• regulated medical or infectious waste
• commercial or industrial waste
• empty containers
• explosives, munitions, ordnance or highly reactive materials
• household batteries (AA, AAA, C, D, 9V)
• smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms

“There are some materials that should be removed from our regular waste stream because of their hazardous nature,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said.

“This collection day provides our residents a place to properly and safely dispose of contaminants, protecting our precious environment for future generations,” DiVincenzo said. “Our collection days are very popular, and I am so glad our residents understand the importance of recycling.”

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