HHW Cleburne2

City of Cleburne Press Release

A single day collection event for household hazardous waste (HHW) collection and electronics recycling is scheduled for Saturday, June 6th at Cleburne Municipal Airport, 1650 Airport Drive. Hazardous materials from Cleburne and Johnson County residents will be accepted free from 9:00am to 11:00am (Burleson and Venus residents are not eligible to participate).  Free electronics recycling from 9:00am to 3:00pm is being sponsored by H-E-B and Eco-International.  All Johnson County and City residents and small businesses may participate.   A complete listing of acceptable materials is available at www.cleburne.net .

Americans produce 1.6 million tons of household hazardous waste per year. What exactly is Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)? Many chemicals used in our homes are actually considered “hazardous”. These materials become “waste” when we want to throw them away. You may wonder why you can’t just throw HHW in the garbage. Landfills in Texas won’t accept HHW because of the dangers connected with them. Placing hazardous waste, or any liquid waste, in the trash also creates unsafe risks for the sanitation workers who have to handle it. Some examples of these hazardous materials would be: oil based paint, motor oil, pesticides, antifreeze, pool chemicals, cleaning chemicals, flea and tick sprays, pet collars and shampoos, bug sprays and baits, mercury thermometers, tub and tile cleaners, nail polish and remover, hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl alcohol, and expired or unused pharmaceuticals.
HHW can cause risks in your home when some products give off dangerous fumes. They can sometimes even react with other chemicals. Be very careful when handling and storing HHW products because they can pose a poisoning risk for children. Be sure to avoid pouring HHW down the drain, toilet, onto the ground, into storm drains and septic tanks. HHW causes a huge risk to our water supply when improperly disposed, so be certain you manage your waste properly to avoid contaminating our water.
There are several ways to reduce the risks of having Household Hazardous Waste in your home. The annual HHW Collection Event is being held just around the corner on June 6th! To avoid the risks these items create in your home, make sure to do a clean sweep through your entire household. Gather up everything that you do not use and bring it in, just this one time. Do not let these hazardous materials collect in your home in the future. Once you ‘Get Rid of it Right’ keep you home hazard free by replacing hazardous products with environmentally friendly, non-toxic cleaning and pesticide alternatives. If you really must use products with hazardous components only purchase the amount you need and use it all up, or share it with a friend or neighbor. This will avoid creating leftover waste and also save you money. The best way to manage HHW is to avoid creating it at all!
Some other materials we often generate around the home while not hazardous still can not be disposed in the trash. There are free, easy, safe, legal methods you can use to safely recycle or dispose of these materials year round. This will save you time not sitting in line and save the City and County disposal costs associated with the annual HHW Collection Event. Used motor oil can be taken to the store where you purchased it for recycling. Auto Zone, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Napa Auto Parts, and Wal-Mart will take-back your old oil. Cleburne residents can also take used oil to the City of Cleburne Transfer Station located on 2625 Pipeline Rd. Vehicle batteries can be recycled at A&A Iron and may even make you a little spending money. Your used fluorescent light bulbs, which do contain hazardous material, can be recycled at Wal-Mart and Home Depot. Latex (water-based) paints are non-hazardous so can be allowed to dry out for disposal. Just open the can (under a roof in case of rain) and let it dry before you throw the can in the trash. Oil-based paints, however, generate hazardous fumes so must be disposed of at a Household Hazardous Waste event!
You may call Julie Winchell, the Environmental Coordinator for the City of Cleburne at (817) 645-0961 for safe alternatives and recycling/disposal options or check the City website at www.cleburne.net .