Electronics, pharmaceuticals, tires thrown away

 

With 270 vehicles coming through in four hours, this year’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection scored high marks with its organizers.

“This biggest year was 2011,” Dan Palmer, coordinator of the Lawrence-Scioto Solid Waste Management District, said. “This ranked second. I am very, very pleased with the turnout.”

Starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday cars and trucks formed a steady line into Dow Chemical at Hanging Rock to allow the solid waste district to dispose of hazardous and electronic waste, tires and pharmaceuticals. The record was 322 vehicles two years ago.

The morning ended with more than 50,060 in waste collected including 1,200 pounds of flammable liquids; 4,000 pounds of electronic equipment; 12,000 pounds of paint-related materials such as thinners; 24,000 pounds of latex paint; and 1,009 tires.

The City of Portsmouth alone brought in 175 tires.

“If we didn’t take these tires and just about every other vehicle had them, where would we be,” Palmer said.

Also collected were medications, both solids and liquids, that totaled 69 pounds.

“This event has been going on for several years now and we have the drug box in our lobby where people can dispose of items,” Jeff Lawless, Lawrence County Sheriff, said. “To still get that amount of pills for the take-back is amazing. I am glad people are taking advantage of this to rid their homes of pills.”

The Household Hazardous Waste Event is always on the last Saturday of September.