Household Hazardous Waste Day was a Great Success!
On August 21, 2021, the cars lined up along Bean Street and US-10 in Scottville to await their chance to safely dispose of hazardous household materials. A total of 222 cars came through the line, bringing materials from 302 households. After the early morning rush, the event ran at a steady pace, with cars bringing in seemingly less material than in recent years.
The Conservation District works with three different contractors to safely dispose of electronics, batteries, and hazardous materials. This year, that included Comprenew, Battery Solutions, and ERG Environmental, respectively. These companies generally can take a month or more to process all of the material and report back with a categorized list of weight per material taken in. Weights of hazardous material for the Mason County collection totaled 17,345 pounds, with oil-based paints being the highest volume item, over 6,100 pounds. We also accepted enough batteries to fill 2-1/2 drums that are 55-gallon in size, and a semi-load of electronics; all of which is taken by contractors. Approximately 757 pounds of car batteries were taken to Padnos for recycling and about 350 gallons of used motor oil was drained and set aside. A local farm takes most of the used motor oil every year to reuse for heating fuel, which saves thousands of dollars in disposal costs for the collection.
Many thanks to our 27 volunteers who put in nearly 92 total hours that day to make it happen! Thanks also to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office for bringing trustees to help with unloading electronics, a Deputy to take away controlled substances, and the Scottville Police Department for helping with traffic! The collection is funded every year thanks to budget allocations from Mason County, all townships and municipalities in the county, as well as generous donations from private donors and partnering organizations and a grant from the Clean Sweep program through MI Dept. of Ag and Rural Development. This year, local supporters included Hamlin Lake Preservation Society, District Health Department # 10, AFFEW, private donors and generous donations from participants on collection day. Thank you to all for helping to keep hazardous materials out of our environment!
Thank You to Our Volunteers!
Wayne Andersen ~ Tom Bell ~ Paul Bigford ~ Sara Bolan ~ Nicole Brennan ~ Jim Clark ~ Deb Del Zoppo ~ Gary Dittmer ~ Tom Grabowski ~ Steve Hull ~ Jerry Jensen ~ Jeanne Lipps ~ Mark Lipps ~ Laura Lyons Bob Ohse ~ Tom Papcun ~ Liz Pasco ~ Ken Pranger ~ Lisa Rokosky ~ Cathy Schindler ~ Rick Singelton ~ Kathy Winczewski ~ Mike Winczewski ~ Terry Woirol
The Mason County Sheriff's Dept. and Trustees
&
The Scottville Police Department