April 24, 2008
Reminder: Hazardous Waste Collection on Saturday
We first told you about it last month, but here's a reminder that this Saturday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the city will be collecting household hazardous waste from residents at the Carter Barron Amphitheatre parking lot at 16th and Kennedy Streets NW. District residents only (Virginia and Maryland residents should check with their local governments to find out where they may take their hazardous waste) may drop-off hazardous waste for proper disposal and recycling. Acceptable items are listed below, and items that will not be accepted are below the jump.
Accepted Items
*Leftover cleaning and gardening chemicals
*Small quantities of gasoline
*Pesticides and poisons
*Mercury thermometers
*Paint
*Solvents
*Spent batteries
*Antifreeze
*Chemistry sets
*Automotive fluids
*Asbestos floor tiles (personally, not sure I'd want to transport those myself)
*Computers (they'll also wipe your hard drive clean for you)
*Computer monitors and other accessories
*Televisions
*Office equipment
*Cell phones
*Stereo equipment
DPW has a set of frequently asked questions about household hazardous waste posted on its web site if you're not sure you should bring something to the drop-off site on Saturday. You can also call 311 to get more information.
Unacceptable items:
*Ammunition
*Bulk trash
*Wooden TV consoles
*Propane tanks
*Microwave ovens
*Air conditioners and other appliances
*Radioactive or medical wastes
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Thanks. I've been meaning to throw away my Batman Underoos. What with the warm weather, they've been getting kinda ripe.
i love how
— Biologically Active Wastes
and
— Wooden TV Cabinets or Consoles
both make it on to the do not drop off list. those are some not-too-similar objects, eh?
IMGoph: Yet they are similar... they're both objects that DC DPW doesn't want.
Why do they always do this on Saturdays? Both me and my partner work 6 days a week. We have for years. I have never been able to make the hazardous waste collection day. I'm pretty responsible about this stuff. So I actually save all this crap, hoping that someday DC makes it a little easier to dispose of it than a seasonal disposal day on a Saturday. (I once took a week day off to take some of these items to the transfer station, because I had heard they had e-recycling there. The people at the transfer station looked at me like I was crazy and just had me dump it all on the main trash pile.)
politburo: of course, that's obvious. i guess it's just not clear to me why anyone would be thinking a wooden tv cabinet would be 'hazardous material'
i guess they're just trying to make it clear to people that this is not meant to be a bulky item pickup...
The asbestos tiles are fine, as long as they're not friable (emitting breathable powder that could enter your lungs) If you think there's a chance they'll "fri" , wet 'em down with a fine spray of water before bringing 'em.
i guess it's just not clear to me why anyone would be thinking a wooden tv cabinet would be 'hazardous material'
From an aesthetics standpoint, I would consider a lot of wooden tv cabinets to be hazardous material. Particleboard is not good for you.
This is all well and good, but does anyone know where to dispose of old refrigerators and a/c units?
SY: You'll have to find a recycler who will take it. They will likely charge a fee.
A "wooden television console" isn't an entertainment center that you place your TV on, it's a TV that's permanently built into a bulky wooden piece of furniture. Since televisions are on the acceptable list, the bit about the wooden consoles is just a way of adding, "but not ALL televisions."
SY: The city actually will take care of it for you. You need to schedule an appointment. Check out the DC DPW website on Bulk Collection for more information. (I am assuming you are in the city).
Chemistry sets
Do the even make these anymore? Last time I saw a chemistry set, Jimmy Carter was talking malaise, Elvis had just croaked on the toilet, and Porkins was getting blown up. And even then, most of the chemicals had coagulated or disintegrated.
I'd be highly suspicious of a DC kid turning in a chemistry set. They'd either be building a meth lab in their basement or trying to act white, neither of which are acceptable.
drew there's a caveat in that link:
"Air conditioners (empty of water and fluids)"
You cannot (properly) empty an air conditioner of fluids without specialized equipment. I hope people aren't busting open their A/C's to dump out the coolant, and then bringing it to DC DPW... oddly, they don't seem to have the same concern about refrigerators.
well, i'm planning on taking an old brake assembly there (full of brake fluid), so i assume that will qualify as hazardous material.
because, if they don't take it, i'm going to drive down to the potomac and toss it in the river...
Their was a huge backup on 16th St from Allison St to Kennedy St. Fortuantely I got their a little before it got really bad and simply got out of my taxi and walked my items to the parking lot. It would have been at least an hour longer had I had to drive all of the way or if I had too much to carry in my arms. I think that this proves that DC really needs to have this event at least 3 to 4 times more often per year. I feel bad for all of the people who got stuck on 16th St that weren't involved with this.
i saw the bad traffic on 16th, bailed out at allison and went over to 17th. parked my car right down the street from fenty's house and just walked the junk up to carter barron. worked pretty well (went back out through rock creek to avoid the traffic)
I know someone who waited in his car in line for four hours waiting to drop the stuff off. What great public policy, to provide a disincentive to citizens trying to do the right thing.
how was the congestion "public policy", krisa? do you think the DDOE actually circulated a memo that said something along the lines of "it will be the policy of this department to make this process difficult as hell for the citizens of the district of columbia"?
it was just too damn successful. the lesson here is that the district should do something like this once a month, instead of having everything slammed on one day.
According to WaPo, Tangherlini plans to open trash transfer stations at Benning Road and Fort Totten for hazmat and e-cycling drop-off on alternating weekends.
Alternating weekends is just not realistic for consumer services. People are guaranteed to show up on the wrong weekends, and they will dump their deadly stuff at station gates in disgust.