The Ecology Action Center’s October 2013 Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection took in significant volumes of hazardous materials with considerably shorter wait times. The 2103 event saw marked improvement over the 2012 collection which saw wait times in excess of 2 hours due to unprecedented turnout. At this year’s event, with wait times ranging from 45 minutes at the peak of the event in the morning to less than 10 minutes for much of the afternoon, residents were able to dispose of their hazardous materials quickly and safely.
A total of 20,693 gallons of hazardous materials were collected from 1,829 households during the event, including 1,155 gallons of oil paints, 4,439 gallons of pesticides, 1,615 gallons of aerosol paints, and 5,652 gallons of combustible substances among other materials. These volumes of materials reflect a slight decline from the 2012 HHW collection. That event was the first in five years due to a lack of traditional funding from the Illinois EPA; EAC’s year-long fund-raising effort provided 100% local funding for the 2012 collection.
After 6 years on the waiting list, EAC’s application for a state sponsored HHW collection was granted, making the October 5, 2013 HHW collection possible. Multiple other community partners also provided critical support including Mitsubishi Motors North America, who provided their parking lots for the collection. McLean County, the Town of Normal, and City of Bloomington all provided assistance for the event while Home Sweet Home Ministries provided e-waste collection services.
According to the US EPA, the average household generates about 30 pounds of household hazardous wastes a year. Locally, one-day hazardous waste collection events can cost between $110,000 and $165,000. While these events are often the most convenient means of safe disposal, the most cost effective and safest strategy for their management is source reduction – consciously avoiding generation and use of these hazardous materials wherever possible.
