Schenectady County’s monthly household hazardous waste collection program will kick off its fifth year of operation on Friday, April 4, at the County Farm, 24 Hetcheltown Road, Glenville.
This year’s program is scheduled to offer monthly collections from April through November. Additionally, Schenectady County residents can participate in the Earth Day electronics program, which will be held at Taft Furniture in Colonie on Saturday, April 26.
County officials hope to build off the 2007 program, which experienced a 17 percent increase in the number of carloads served, resulting in 376 drums of hazardous materials being removed from county residents’ homes and safely discarded an increase of 15 percent from 2006.
The hazardous materials included paints, solvents, lawn and garden chemicals, household cleaners, automobile fluids, as well as other hazardous chemicals found around the home.
The schedule for 2008 is as follows: Friday, April 4; Wednesday, June 4 (4 p.m. to 7 p.m.); Saturday, July 12; Saturday, Aug. 9; Friday, Sept. 5; Saturday, Oct. 4, and Friday, Nov. 7. All times are 8 a.m. to noon unless otherwise indicated.
Preregistration is required for all programs by calling 1- 800-494- 2273. The registration period for each program will begin immediately following the completion of the previous program.
Registrations are limited to 175 people on a first-come-first-served basis. The program is available only to Schenectady County residents with a valid County Farm permit. County residents can purchase a County Farm permit at the Schenectady County Farm for $15. Permits are valid through December.
Payment must be in cash and the purchaser must show his or her vehicle registration at the time of purchase.
Hazardous chemicals brought to the program are handled by a professional hazardous waste management firm. CARE Environmental Corporation of Landing, N.J., was hired to operate the program on an annual renewable basis, for the next five years. CARE has operated the program since the fall of 2002.
The materials are trucked from the County Farm by permitted hazardous waste hauling trucks to a processing center in Georgia, where they are sent to other locations to be blended with other fuels and burned to produce energy, destroyed by incineration, recycled or chemically treated.
The program is funded by the Schenectady County Legislature, with a 50 percent matching grant from the state Environmental Protection Fund and administered by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The program is administered by the Schenectady County Department of Economic Development and Planning.
For the complete schedule or for information on the program, visit the county Web site at www.schenectadycounty.com; e-mail [email protected]; or call the County Department of Economic Development and Planning at 386-2225.
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