HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) – Spring is just around the corner, and most of us may be ready to start the season by decluttering and downsizing for a fresh start. However, one part of spring cleaning that’s not so easy – dealing with old cleaning supplies, electronics, and other items that you can’t just throw in the trash.
The City of Huntsville is making it easy for residents to drop off these hazardous products for free.
This Saturday, March 11, and next Saturday, March 18, – Huntsville’s Green Team will host an event to help the community clean up and clean out. The team says these events are a quick and easy way to protect our loved ones and the environment.
“If you’ve never done a cleanup before, this is a great way to get engaged. If you’re somebody who needs volunteer hours, we’re actually able to give letters of support for that for a lot of students. The cleanup is great exercise, and I mean you just can’t go wrong with being a part of a community cleanup,” said Niki Sothers, City of Huntsville’s Green Team Manager.
Hazardous waste materials include items like batteries, household chemicals, used motor oil, televisions, and more. These items can be dangerous to the environment, animals, and our families when they’re disposed of improperly.
“All these products make our life easier, but we’ve got to take the extra step to actually dispose of them the right way. We love that volunteer support and that help. That’s the only way we can really keep this city as beautiful as it is – is to have everybody engaged and everybody a part of it,” added Sothers.
At the city’s SWDA Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility, you can drop off any hazardous waste items that may be toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive that are used every day at your home.
“We’ll separate it and make sure it gets sent off to be disposed of properly in the right place. It takes a couple of hours to get it separated and then we’ll ship it off about every week,” said Andrew Wilson, Huntsville’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility Manager.
Whether it’s here at the facility or at one of the two events the city’s Green Team is hosting, Wilson is encouraging everyone to think green and take the time to dispose of these items properly.
“You don’t want it making its way back into your home is the reason you want to bring it here. You want to make sure it’s disposed of properly and not leaking in a ditch somewhere so that the rainwater washes it in the creek that your livestock drinks out of or that your farmers irrigate crops out of,” replied Wilson.
The waste collection facility is open Monday-Friday, 7AM-5PM.
The Green Team is offering Saturday options this month for those who can’t make it on a weekday.
