By Jeanne Sager
MONTICELLO — July 10, 2007 — Toxic just got popular.
Sullivan County’s Department of Public Waste has set a Hazardous Waste Day for August 25 in Monticello.
Call the landfill.
Drive up. Unload. Drive out.
All in 3 minutes.
That’s the plan anyway.
With late August temperatures likely to be sky high, County Recycling Coordinator Bill Cutler said no one will want to be lining up in the landfill driveway, especially not with a trunk full of hazardous materials.
So they’ve set an ambitious schedule to get people in and out, and get a lot of hazardous materials off the streets.
“This is a chance to clean out the basement and garage and get rid of all the toxic nasties,” Cutler said with a grin.
Computer monitors, refrigerators, televisions, fluorescent light tubes and dozens of other recyclable materials that would otherwise cost county residents a $12 fee to dispose of will be taken in absolutely free.
“It’s going to be a hiatus day, this day only,” Cutler explained. “We hope by doing this, we can encourage people to bring things in, people who might not otherwise because of that fee.”
There are rules, and even an amnesty has its limitations.
The county won’t be taking medical waste or explosives, and the hazardous waste must be privately generated.
Industrial, commercial and farm-generated hazardous waste will be taken at another time, Cutler said.
The county expects to be busy that Saturday regardless.
Budgetary constraints kept this type of program off the solid waste calendar last year, and Cutler said they’re looking for record numbers in August.
“This year, we’re bringing it back with a vengeance,” he said.
The county’s ever-increasing recycling program (which requires participation under the law) and the global push to “go green” are reason enough for anyone to show up, but Cutler said people can look at this simply as a way to clean up and improve their lives.
Old mercury thermostats can come down to make way for cheaper alternatives, and be carted out to Monticello on the 25th.
Batteries and CFC-containing appliances can be disposed of cheaply and safely.
“If you’re not doing this on this day, you’re not doing anything good,” Cutler said with a smile.
For information, or to make a 3-minute appointment, call Cutler’s office at 794-4466.