Got chemicals? Getting rid of them isn't so easy
May 22—More than meets the eye goes into hosting a hazardous household waste collection day — from hiring a specialized disposal contractor to following environmental protocols.
A collection day hosted on Saturday overwhelmed the county's capacity to handle traffic at the Material Recovery Center in Clyde — known as the MRF and pronounced "murf" by locals.
The county brought in a waste management service called EcoFlo to collect the items, sort the items and haul them off for disposal. The service cost the county $15,000 for last year's collection day and is likely to cost more than twice that amount this year.
A lot of people came through the line with things that could be dropped off at any time, not just a hazardous collection day, and that could have been a potential factor in the traffic that ensued, according to Assistant county manager Kris Boyd.
"I think part of the issue we had with Saturday's event was looking at the products on the manifest," said Boyd. "A lot of folks brought products that we accept daily. Fluorescent bulbs, water based paint, batteries, motor oil, antifreeze, oil filters, propane cylinders — these are the things that most people think are (hazardous waste) but are good general items that we'll take."
People bringing their regular household trash to the MRF also got caught up in the line.
"We know there were some of those folks because they got very irate with staff on Saturday for having to sit in line to dispose of three or four bags of trash," Boyd said.
County staff then went along the waiting line of cars, questioning folks about what they were bringing, and redirecting them to a convenience center unless they actually had hazardous waste. Although some were still upset to be redirected after their wait.
During waste collection day several huge containers are stationed at the MRF for different classifications of hazardous waste. Staff members direct folks to the proper drop-off site.
"That's how they're loaded, that's how they're managed in their truck, and then that's how they will dispose of them, so they don't intermix. They keep them separate from the beginning, instead of trying to unload and separate everything after the event," Boyd said.
Boyd said the long lines show that folks wanted to do the right thing and not dump chemicals down the drain or on the ground.
"From flammable liquids to oils to antifreezes to motor oils to cooking oils, how many people used to dump those down a storm drain somewhere and then end up in your creeks? You don't want your surface water contaminated with any of that, you don't want your groundwater contaminated with any of those hazards," Boyd said.
When holding a collection such as the one last Saturday, the county must also consider environmental and permitting requirements — including what level of waste the site is classified for.
"We work within those classifications on what we can accept and what we cannot accept, and most of that is based on the permit we have to operate that facility," said Boyd.
Find a list of accepted materials for the MRF and the 10 convenience center recycling sites on haywoodcountync.gov. Click on the 'Recycling & Garbage' tab under the 'Residents' tab on the website.
