Every third Saturday in August, since 2007, the conservation districts in Manistee, Mason, and Oceana Counties offer three collection sites for the community to safely dispose of household hazardous waste (HHW) and agricultural pesticides. Each location also collects pharmaceuticals, batteries, recyclable oil, oil-based paints, electronics and appliances from households. The HHW project takes year-long planning and a dedicated committee of conservation district staff and volunteers for a successful collection day. Throughout the year leading up to the HHW collection, the committee requests funding allocations, manage outreach activities, hire professional waste disposal or recycling services, and gather volunteers and supplies needed for the collection day. During collection day, committee members help supervise each of the three sites to make sure the event runs smoothly. The HHW project would not be possible without the dedicated committee members and numerous volunteers that work hard every year for a successful event.

HHW Continues to Be Successful
The HHW collection has continued to be successful since the initial year of the program in 2007. A total of 79,700 pounds of waste was collected by the tri-county group in 2022.

Accepted and Unaccepted Household Hazardous Waste Materials
Click here to review the list of accepted and unaccepted materials at the collection day in August.

Funding Sources
Every year, the Household Hazardous Waste Committee, led by Conservation Districts of Mason, Manistee, and Oceana Counties, request allocations from each township, village and city based on a $0.40 per capita rate. In addition, each county Board of Commissioners allocates $4,000-$7,000 annually.

How Can You Help?
The community’s continued support and donations are extremely important for the continued success of the HHW event. If you would like to donate towards the 2023 HHW collection day, click the Donate Now button above. Every donation is appreciated!
If you would like to volunteer for future HHW collection days, please contact the Mason-Lake Conservation District at (231) 757 – 3707 ext. 5.