Before Bringing Products to the Collection Site:
• Check containers - make sure lids are tight.
• Unlabeled containers should be written on with a marker pen as to what the contents consists of that are inside each container.
• Pack each toxic waste in a sturdy container, such as a tub or box. Line the bottom and pack sides with newspaper or other absorbent material.
• Wrap leaking or dirty individual containers in clear plastic bags and pack each item in a larger container with absorbent material such as kitty litter to soak up leaks.
• Transport materials in your automobile trunk, rear of station wagon or truck bed.
What is household hazardous waste?
HHW consists of household products or chemicals which can cause injury or are harmful if not used, stored, or disposed of properly. Key words found on hazardous products include poison, danger, warning, toxic, flammable, corrosive, explosive or irritant.
Why can’t one just throw HHW away with the trash?
HHW poses a threat to people (particularly children, refuse workers and fireman) pets, and the environment. Soil and water pollution can result from improper disposal of HHW.
The average household contains between three and ten gallons of materials that are hazardous to human health or to the natural environment, Barton County Solid Waste Manager Mark Witt said. Collectively, these can poison our water if they are not stored carefully and disposed of properly.
To reduce the disposal of hazardous materials:
• Avoid buying hazardous products. Use safer alternatives and read labels.
• Only buy what you need.
• Use it up, unless the product is banned.
• Share it with a neighbor, church group, community service organization.
In addition to spring, Barton County Solid Waste Manager Mark Witt said household hazardous waste collection season is almost upon us.
The Barton County Household Hazardous Waste Facility at the Landfill, located at 350 NE 30 Road northwest of Great Bend, will re-open on April 1 and the first scheduled collection will take place on April 19. The service is for residential customers only from Barton, Pawnee and Ellsworth counties, Witt said.
The program is offered from 8 a.m. to noon on the third Saturday of the month from April through October, with the next date being May 15. Appointments to drop off materials at other times can be made by calling the facility.
There is no charge.
“Our goal is to keep this sort of waste out of the environment,” Witt said. And it has been working.
In 2013, the landfill took in 28,881 pounds of such waste, which is about average for the program.
The landfill’s Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Bureau of Waste Management permit requires the county to serve the above mentioned counties. So, Witt’s staff will hold outreach pick-up opportunities in Pawnee Rock, Larned, Lorraine, Wilson and Holyrood.
The schedule includes:
• May 3 – 9 a.m. to noon at Larned and 12:30-3 p.m. at Pawnee Rock.
• June 7 – 9 a.m. to noon at at Holyrood and 12:30-3 p.m. at Lorraine.
• Aug. 2 – 9 a.m. to noon at Wilson.
• Oct. 4 – 9 a.m. to noon at Larned.
Accepted are household herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, any gardening chemical, household cleaners, automotive cleaners or fluids, all paint related products, and all batteries. Hazardous waste from commercial businesses is not allowed.
Not accepted are infectious waste, radioactive waste, laboratory chemicals, asbestos, explosives or empty or dry containers (these containers can be disposed of with regular trash).
In addition, however, many of the chemicals collected can be picked up and recycled by all residents, homeowners and business owners alike. After his staff has determined what is safe and reusable, it will made available to the public for free. This includes paint – both interior and exterior grades – as well as cleaning, automotive and other chemical products.
As a side note, personnel mix all the lighter-colored paints together. These mixtures are so popular, especially with landlords, that the landfill has a waiting list.
“The more of this stuff we can get rid of the better,” Witt said. However, it may take until the end of the month for there to be anything available.
Such actions help to extend the landfill life. The more items that can be recycled, the less that has to go into the ground, which means the county taxpayers will have more years before they have to pay for the expensive prospect of opening yet another landfill.
For more information, call the landfill, 620-793-1898.
