Household Hazardous Waste Collection returns on Aug. 14

File photos by Tom Rivers: Employees with Environmental Enterprises in Cincinnati empty fluids into large drums to be hauled away during the household hazardous waste collection on Aug. 12, 2017. The event was cancelled last year and will be back Aug. 14. It is free to Orleans County residents, but doesn’t include commercial waste.

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 August 2021 at 8:58 am

There were 349 empty propane tanks collected in August 2019 at the last household hazard waste collection event in Orleans County.

ALBION – Last year the household hazardous waste collection event was cancelled due to concerns and restrictions with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The event will be back on Aug. 14 and there are still many slots available. The registration times are from 8 a.m. to noon with 15-minute slots. Each 15-minute time frame includes up to 20 registrants. To register, call the Orleans County Department of Planning and Development at (585) 589-3198.

The event, which is held in several stations at the Orleans County DPW on West Academy Street, allows residents to dispose of tires, propane tanks, auto/marine batteries and other hazardous household waste in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. Some of the items include oil-based paints, solvents, adhesives & resins, aerosols, motor oil & filters, pesticides, acids, fluorescent bulbs, corrosives, household batteries and antifreeze.

The county typically pays Environmental Enterprises, Inc. of Cincinnati about $18,000 to collect and remove the household hazardous waste, with the state them reimbursing the county about half of the costs.

Orleans County in 2019 accepted tires for the first time. There was a big response from the public with about 1,000 tires dropped off at by the Orleans County DPW on West Academy Street. The event this time is limiting people to 10 tires. The tires must be rimless. Only non-commercial and non-farm tires are accepted.

The collection event doesn’t include explosives, pressurized tanks, ammunition, PCBs, pathologic waste, infectious waste, radioactive waste, syringes, pharmaceuticals, computers and electronics.