Wastemobile visits Des Moines for household hazardous waste collection March 27-29

King County residents can safely dispose of car batteries, oil and other household hazardous items on March 27-29 when the King County Wastemobile continues this season with a visit to the Des Moines/Normandy Park area.

The Wastemobile is operated by King County as part of the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, King County residents can drop off hazardous household waste items including pesticides, oil-based paints, automotive products (oil, antifreeze, auto batteries, etc.), fluorescent bulbs/tubes and other items free of charge.

By properly disposing of these materials and keeping them out of drains and landfills, King County residents are helping safeguard the environment.

One item that will no longer be accepted during household hazardous waste collection events is latex paint. Research has shown that dried or solidified latex paint can be safely disposed through the regular solid waste process.

The Wastemobile will be located at the Des Moines Marina at 22307 Dock Ave. S.

The Wastemobile will visit the Home Depot in Redmond the following weekend, April 3-5. Later this spring the Wastemobile will visit other King County locations, including Kent, Auburn and Vashon.

"The intent of the program is to ensure safe, proper disposal of hazardous products people have in their homes," said Julie Mitchell of King County's Solid Waste Division.

Created in 1989, the Wastemobile was the first program of its kind in the nation. The program has collected more than 13,770 tons of household hazardous waste from more than 300,000 customers.

"Our goal is to make disposal of these hazardous materials easy so that they won't end up in the normal household trash," Mitchell said. "The thousands of residents who come out to these events let us know that we are providing an important and convenient service."

For more information, including acceptable materials and quantity limits, call the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program's 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.