Hazardous Waste Collection at Bucks Tech School Saturday
Digital Staff
The following is a press release from the Bucks County Public Information Office
The fourth of five Bucks County Household Hazardous Waste Collection events for 2019 will be held Saturday, August 24, at Bucks County Technical High School, 610 Wistar Road in Fairless Hills.
The collection, sponsored by the Bucks County Commissioners and the Bucks County Planning Commission, will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine. Residents will be directed with signs to enter the northern “Do Not Enter” driveway on Wistar Road.
Previous collections, held at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Upper Bucks Area Vocational Technical School in Perkasie and Central Bucks High School South in Warrington, have resulted in 233,000 pounds of hazardous household wastes collected from almost 3,100 participating households.
If you have hazardous waste in your shed, garage or cabinets that can no longer be used, this is your chance to safely dispose of items such as pesticides, cleaning agents, pool chemicals, gasoline and oil-based paint.
Please note: The program is for residential waste only; no materials will be accepted from businesses, industry or institutions. No electronics, propane tanks larger than two pounds or latex paint will be accepted.
Acceptable items include pesticides; oil-based paint and paint products; automotive products (gasoline, motor oil, antifreeze); pool chemicals; degreasers and cleaners; mercury thermostats; fluorescent tubes; fire extinguishers; mini propane tanks of two pounds or less; lead-acid batteries (car, marine, motorcycle and truck); and rechargeable, lithium or button-type household batteries. There is a limit of 25 gallons or 220 pounds of acceptable materials per household.
Unacceptable items include, but are not limited to: TVs and other electronics, appliances, asbestos, medical waste, explosives, radioactive and unidentified waste, large gas cylinders, tires and smoke detectors. Please note that if you have water-based latex paint or alkaline batteries, these can be safely put in your regular trash collection and therefore will not be accepted at the collection.
Guidelines for safely transporting household hazardous waste to the collection sites include:
- Keep all products in their original containers with labels intact and lids on tight.
- Place materials securely in a box to prevent spilling.
- Wrap leaking containers in newspaper and place in a plastic container for transport.
- Do not mix materials.
- Do not leave hazardous materials loaded in a vehicle or other hot, unventilated areas for prolonged periods.
- Do not smoke near any chemicals.
- Take cardboard boxes home to recycle.
Please separate personal items from the hazardous waste to be collected, as we encourage people to stay in their vehicles when materials are unloaded. We encourage neighbors to collaborate by bringing materials from a couple of households in one car to limit the number of vehicles in line.
Last year, the five events held in Bucks County drew 4,000 participants, and roughly 250,000 pounds of hazardous waste were collected safely.
As this is a collaborative regional program, residents of Bucks County also are welcome to take household hazardous wastes to collection events in Chester, Delaware, Montgomery or Philadelphia Counties if one of their event dates or locations is more convenient. At this time the final Bucks County collection of the year is scheduled for Sept. 21 in Quakertown.
For a complete list of items, as well as all event dates and locations in the southeastern Pennsylvania area, please go to http://recycling-bucksgis.opendata.arcgis.com/