Editor’s note: This article is written by Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County recycling and education director Mary S. Allen, along with Kane County recycling coordinator Jennifer Jarland, both of whom are members of the Illinois Task Force for Recycling Contamination Solutions. The article is part of a year-long a series on the “Dirty Dozen” of recycling — the 12 items that should not go in a recycling cart.
Those who have painted their house, refinished a floor, or switched lightbulbs from CFLs to LEDs, probably have some leftover products that contain dangerous ingredients.
Paints, cleaners, batteries, and pesticides are among the common household materials that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies as household hazardous waste. Here’s their definition:
“EPA considers some leftover household products that can catch fire, react, or explode under certain circumstances, or that are corrosive or toxic as household hazardous waste.”
Many types of HHW aren’t recyclable. For those products, the focus is on keeping hazardous materials out of the landfills and water supply. Let’s take a closer look at why proper storage and disposal of these common household products is so important.
The 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act put rules in place for storage, handling, and disposal of HHW. If you dispose of it improperly (for example, pour it down the drain), you are likely breaking the law.
HHW often contains toxic chemicals such as cadmium, lead, and mercury. There’s a reason you can no longer find paint containing lead or alkaline batteries containing mercury. They present a health hazard to humans, animals, and the environment.
Household hazardous waste is rarely labeled explicitly. Some words to look for on the container include: Caution, characteristics, corrosive, danger, flammable, poison, reactive, signals, toxic, and warning.
If you see any of these words on the label, you’re dealing with a hazardous material. Store the product away from children and pets. Dispose of any remaining product through the proper channel.
In Kane County, there are methods for residents to dispose of their HHW responsibly.
• Naperville HHW Facility Drop-off, 156 Fort Hill Drive, Naperville, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Naperville Public Works: 630-420-6095.
• Home collection is for the following eligible areas: The townships of Hampshire, Rutland, Dundee, Burlington, Plato, Elgin (all towns within these townships are eligible to participate); the cities of Batavia and Geneva; and Mill Creek SSA.
If you live in one of the above listed eligible areas, call 1-866-373-8357 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to schedule an appointment. The city government of Elgin has its own program. If you are in city limits, call the Elgin Residential HHW Hotline at 1-800-449-7587 for service.
For more information: www.countyofkane.org/Recycling/Pages/hhw.aspx.
—Kane County