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Safely dispose of household chemicals

Safely dispose of unwanted chemicals

Nonprofit group collects household hazardous waste

By Sarah Alessio Shea

Take a quick look around your house, and you may discover as much as 100 pounds of household hazardous waste in your basement, garage and storage closets.

Surprised? Don’t be—you’re not alone.

An average home easily accumulates cleaners, car batteries, motor oils, paints, stains and varnishes, pesticides and other products containing hazardous components, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The good news is you can pack up unwanted household chemicals and drop them off at an upcoming drive-thru collection hosted by the nonprofit Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC).

A volunteer unloads paint cans from a vehicle during a household hazardous waste collection with Pennsylvania Resources Council. Load your car trunk or truck bed with unwanted household chemicals and take them to an upcoming collection event for safe disposal.
Submitted photo

Clean rivers and streams are invaluable to recreation, commerce and aquatic life. But products poured down the drain or into your yard may become a permanent part of the ecosystem. Heavy rains carry contaminants into waterways, where they become dangerous to plant, animal and human life.

Collection Events

PRC and partners host events to safely, cost-effectively dispose of common household chemicals.

Since 2003, PRC has facilitated safe disposal of more than 7 million pounds of hazardous chemicals from 80,000 households.

Upcoming household hazardous chemical collections include:

• Sat. May 3—9 am to 1 pm, North Park

• Sat. Aug. 16—9 am to 1 pm, Boyce Park

• Sat. Sept. 6—9 am to 1 pm, South Park

Participants must register in advance by visiting prc.org/collectionevents or calling 412-488-7490.

A $20 fee will cover the cost of disposing up to 10 gallons, or 50 pounds, of aerosol cans, automotive fluids, chemistry sets, electronic cigarettes/ vapes, gasoline and kerosene, household cleaners, mercury thermometers, paint products, pesticides/garden chemicals, photo chemicals and pool chemicals.

Loads exceeding 10 gallons/50 pounds will be subject to additional fees at the discretion of onsite staff.

Other fees are $12 per fire extinguisher and $15 per pound of liquid mercury.

Identify Hazardous Waste

Identify household hazardous materials by looking for these words on product labels: caution, toxic, danger, flammable, warning, corrosive, explosive, reactive, combustible, poisonous or hazardous.

You typically will find household chemicals in five areas of your home:

• Kitchen (oven cleaner, bleach, ammonia, floor cleaner)

• Bathroom (toilet bowl cleaner, drain cleaner, hair color, mercury thermometers)

• Garage (oil, antifreeze, gasoline)

• Workshop (oil-based paint, paint thinner, glue)

• Garden shed (weed killers, pesticides, insecticides)

Learn More

Find examples of household hazardous waste at prc.org/hhw-guide.

Check the collection schedule at prc.org/ collectionevents.

Sarah Alessio Shea is deputy director of Pennsylvania Resources Council, a statewide environmental nonprofit focused on reducing waste: prc.org.
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