Recycling made easy with King County's Wastemobile

Kent-area residents can dispose of household hazardous materials March 3-5

Tempted to toss dead batteries, empty aerosol cans or broken thermometers in the trash? Keep household hazardous material out of landfills simply by dropping it off at the King County Wastemobile, March 3-5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Fred Meyer store, 10201 SE 240th St. in Kent.

The Wastemobile is operated by King County as part of the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program and accepts pesticides, chlorine bleach, paint products, automotive products (oil, antifreeze, auto batteries, etc.), fluorescent bulbs/ballasts and other household hazardous items free of charge. King County residents are helping safeguard the health of their family and the environment by properly disposing of these materials and keeping them out of drains and garbage.

Created in 1989, the Wastemobile was the first program of its kind in the nation. In its first 16 years in operation, the program collected 13,771 tons of household hazardous waste from 306,800 customers. In its 26 collection events last year, the Wastemobile served almost 19,814 King County residents, collecting an average of 100 pounds of hazardous waste per customer for a total of 1,110 tons.

"The intent of the program is to ensure safe, proper disposal of hazardous products people have in their homes," said Alexandra Thompson of King County's Solid Waste Division. "By making disposal of these hazardous materials easy, we are ensuring that they won't end up in the normal household trash."

Thompson said the Wastemobile's visit to Kent in 2005 proved extremely successful. Participation was up by 120 percent from 2004, and more than 60,000 pounds of household hazardous materials was gathered for proper disposal.

"These results are extremely encouraging," said Thompson. "The number of residents choosing to take advantage of these events lets us know that we are providing an important and convenient service."

King County residents who are unable to make it to the Kent collection event March 3-5 can drop off their materials at the Wastemobile event March 10-12 at the Fred Meyer store in Kingsgate.

For more information, including acceptable materials and quantity limits, call the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program's Household Hazards Line at 206-296-4692, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., except holidays.

Recorded information is available after hours. Information is also available on the Wastemobile Web site at www.govlink.org/hazwaste/house/disposal/wastemobile/index.html