‘Hazardous Waste Collection Day’ Returns To Cedar Grove

CEDAR GROVE, NJ — Are you a Verona or Cedar Grove resident with old pesticides that you need to dispose of? How about paint thinner, barbecue propane tanks or fluorescent light bulbs? Purge your cabinets and free your garage space - while being kind to the environment – at the 2017 Essex County Hazardous Waste Collection Day.

This year’s collection event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 6, at the Old Essex County Hospital Center, 125 Fairview Avenue in Cedar Grove. The event is open to all Essex County residents.

“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.”

• See related article: Essex County's 'Clean Jobs' Initiative: Are Asbestos and Brownfields A Gold Mine?

Materials being collected at the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day 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.

Items not being collected include 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.

The Essex County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day is open to any resident of Essex County. 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.

"We frequently get calls asking how to dispose of fire extinguishers, gasoline, and other materials that should not be thrown away with regular household garbage," Millburn Fire Chief Robert Echavarria said. "We encourage residents to take advantage of this upcoming event to safely and responsibly dispose of hazardous waste."

"Improper disposal of hazardous waste can pose a serious threat to people, animals, and the environment," Echavarria added. "For example, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that just one quart of motor oil can pollute and contaminate one million gallons of freshwater. Don't allow hazardous materials to pile up in your basement and garage. This event is a great opportunity to safely discard them."

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