Do you have a collection of batteries sitting in your storage area, waiting for a forever home? How about burnt out compact flourescent lightbulbs (CFLs) or other mercury-containing items? Have pills or other expired medication laying around, not sure where to put it now that other resources for disposal have ceased?
Have medications laying around the house, and don’t know how to dispose of them? Take them to the hazardous household waste collection on Sept. 29 in Champaign. Photo: Morguefile
Mark your calendar for this Saturday, Sept. 29, when the Illinois EPA will conduct a one-day household hazardous waste collection event in Champaign-Urbana from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The News-Gazette Distribution Center on Apollo Drive in Champaign. The household hazardous waste collection event is free and is open to
the public, and will happen rain or shine.
So what counts as household hazardous waste and will be collected at this event? Here’s the list:
- Oil-based paint
- Household batteries
- Paint thinner
- Used motor oil
- Herbicides
- Drain cleaners
- Insecticides
- Lawn chemicals
- Pesticides Solvents
- Old gasoline
- Antifreeze
- Pool chemicals
- Hobby chemicals
- Cleaning products
- Aerosol paint
- Mercury-containing devices
- Fluorescent lamp bulbs
- Double-bagged & wetted asbestos
- Old medicines and pharmaceuticals
- Propane tanks
- Lead acid batteries
One thing you will notice that is NOT on this list is latex paint. The Illinois EPA has a list of ways to dispose of latex paint, stating on its website that latex paint has a “low-level of toxicity.”
According to a news release, there has not been a hazardous waste collection event in the Champaign-Urbana area since 2006, and a large response “is anticipated. Residents are encouraged to carpool and combine loads, use alternative modes of transportation, and be prepared for wait times.”
To get to the site, enter at the intersection of North Market Street and East Olympian Drive in north Champaign (click for map).
The event is sponsored by the Illinois EPA. Co-sponsors include City of Urbana, City of Champaign, Village of Savoy, Champaign County, Champaign County Probation and Court Services, Champaign County Regional Planning Commission, Prairie Rivers Network, Sierra Club Prairie Group and MTD.
