Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day

By Eliza Hallabeck

Cars drove around the Newtown Public Works garage at 4 Turkey Hill Road from 9 am to 2 pm on Saturday, May 16, to find workers in white suits ready to collect and segregate household items for Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day, overseen by the Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority.

The day was held for residents of Newtown, Redding, Danbury, New Fairfield, and Ridgefield, and, according to Cheryl Reedy, director of Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority (HRRA), another collection day will be held for residents of the same towns on Saturday, September 26, in Danbury.

Ms Reedy said there are typically 600 cars that pull through the drive-through drop off.

“The cars are moving through very well,” Ms Reedy said on Saturday morning.

John Menti with Clean Harbors, the company that disposes the hazardous materials, said items accepted for drop off during the day included aerosol cans, paints, oils, pesticides, and pool chemicals.

“A lot of the oils, waste fuels, are reused for fuel for asphalt plants,” Mr Menti said, “so it really doesn’t get wasted.”

A chemist was also on the scene, according to Mr Menti, to oversee everything mixed was compatible.