UF/IFAS Okeechobee County Extension Service

458 Highway 98 North

Okeechobee, FL 34972-2578

Phone: (863) 763-6469

E- mail: dfculbert@ifas.ufl.edu

April14, 2004

Feature Article - for release the week of April 18, 2004

Dan Culbert - Extension Horticulture Agent

We Want your Waste!

This coming Saturday homeowners can save lots of money, and feel good about helping to save the environment. Okeechobee County’s Solid Waste Department will be offering to take your tired, and your poor, those struggling masses of unknown containers and bags of chemicals, all yearning to be free. All you have to do is get them to the county's vehicle maintenance facility this coming Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and be rid of these problems.

And the county will get to save money too. By keeping these hazardous materials from leaking into the soil and water, and keep them out of the landfill, expensive environmental cleanup costs will be avoided. Today’s column will talk about the things to bring to Amnesty Day, and how to safely get them there.

Several years ago, I was employed by a research facility. My job included cleaning up nearly 50 years of unused and unknown lab chemicals and pesticides. Over the years, containers were shoved to the back of the shelf, cracks in bottles allowed their contents to leak, bagged and boxed containers became moist and caked, and labels became unreadable. When it came time to renovate the building, these materials had to first be removed. And since we had no idea what some of these materials were, they had to be considered unknowns.

To a hazardous waste contractor, unknowns mean "worst case scenario". Technicians get dressed up in all kinds of expensive protective gear, take samples and run expensive diagnostic tests to try to find out what it is, then place them into special (expensive) containers that will take these problems to their final destination - big expensive incinerators, or big expensive landfills that are built stronger than Fort Knox. Did I tell you that disposing of hazardous wastes is expensive?

Preventing hazardous waste disposal problems involves two major steps. Prevention can be practiced by the consumer, and in the case of Saturday’s Amnesty day, prevention by local government. Here’s how:

When purchasing chemicals, buy only what is needed for the immediate future. Buying more that what is needed may give an impression that the purchase is cheaper by the pound, but if only one ounce of a one pound bag is used, money is being wasted. Besides, many chemicals will break down if not stored properly under cool dry conditions - and not many folks can afford to air-condition their shed or garage. If you have excess chemical products that someone else could use, why not give it to them. And if the container was never opened in the first place, see if the store will take it back.

If allowed to sit, unused improperly stored chemicals become contaminated, break down and then may leak into our water supply. Some folks are know to illegally dump their hazardous on public property - and then the cleanup becomes a cost that will be paid by everyone. Homeowner amnesty days are a way to minimize this cost, to get this stuff out of your garage and into the hands of those that can handle it properly, and prevent illegal dumping.

The term chemicals as used here is use very broadly; it can include the obvious nasties such as pesticides, cleaning solvents, pool chemicals, or petroleum products. But it can also include less obvious sources of chemical contaminants:

oil-based paints (that are cleaned up with turpentine or mineral spirits - flammable). Latex paints (cleanup with water) can be left open to completely dry out, and then placed into the regular garbage pickup.
mercury-based thermometers or thermostats (with the silver stuff, not the red stuff)
weed and feed fertilizers (the ones that have been sitting in the back of the shed for many years, and are as hard as rocks
that secret supply of insecticide that you got from your friend who used to work for a pest control company, who gave it to you "just in case."
batteries - both for vehicles and for flashlights - contain caustic chemicals or heavy metals that can contaminate our environment.

If you have a leaker, put it into a bucket or heavy duty plastic bag. If the label is intact, use a permanent marker to label the bag or bucket with the name of the product. Carefully place your contributions to Amnesty day into the back of the pickup truck or the trunk of the car - do not transport these materials in the cab or on the floor where passengers may come in contact with it. Drive extra carefully to the County's vehicle maintenance facility, 206 NW 9^th Avenue from 9 AM to 3 PM on Saturday April 24.

Here are a few other notes about Saturday’s Amnesty day:

Used tires will be accepted, but only four per household.
No propane tanks can be accepted - propane vendors such as Glades Gas will be happy to accept these items.
Businesses that have hazardous materials to dispose of may also bring them to Amnesty Day, but expect to pay the going rates for hazmat disposal as set by Clean Harbors Environmental Services, the contractor for this program.

Let’s see if we can beat the record of 80 vehicles, set at the November 2003 Amnesty Day.

If you have any questions about the County’s Amnesty day, call Russell Rowland at 863-763-1811. And, look forward in May for County Cleanup days, where special pickups of yard trash and garbage are being planned. If you need additional information on reducing or handling hazardous waste, give your County Extension office a call. Master Gardeners can answer your questions about your Florida Yard - call or visit on Tuesday afternoons here at our office. Visit our webpage at http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu , or stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North. Our phone number is (863) 763-6469, and you can email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu .

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References:

Hornsby, A. Avoid Hazardous Household Products. Gainesville: UF/IFAS Extension Service Water Primer Webpage, undated.

Neisheim, O.N. Pesticide and Container Disposal for Homeowners. Gainesville: UF/IFAS Extension Service Fact Sheet PI-27, August 2002.

ibid, Proper Disposal of Pesticide Wastes. Gainesville: UF/IFAS Extension Service Fact Sheet PI-18, 8/2000.

Olexa, M.T., Leviten, A., & Samek, K. Florida Solid and Hazardous Waste Regulation Handbook: Solid and Hazardous Waste Disposal. Gainesville: UF/IFAS Extension Service, Bulletin FE-457, December 2003.

Olexa, M.T. & Leviten, A. Florida Solid and Hazardous Waste Regulation: Used Oil, Waste Tires and Lead-Acid Batteries. Gainesville: UF/IFAS Extension Service, Bulletin FRE-193, November 1999.

Trade names, where used, are given for the purpose of providing specific information. They do not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of products named, nor does it imply criticism of products not named. The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS /University of Florida. Larry A. Arrington, Acting Dean. Last update: 04/15/2004 . This page is maintained by Dan Culbert Hit Counter