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Schenectady County Legislature Announces Registration Open for Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event

Household Chemicals

The Schenectady County Legislature announced registration is now open for the Schenectady County Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Program taking place on Saturday, August 12, 2023 at SUNY Schenectady. This is the third of four HHW events scheduled for 2023.

The program allows County residents to bring unwanted hazardous chemicals from around their homes to the collection site for safe and environmentally sound disposal. This is a free program for Schenectady County residents. Space is limited and registration is required. Register online at www.schenectadycountyny.gov/hhw or by calling (518) 388-4775.

“Our free collection events are an easy way for residents to rid their home of harmful chemicals they don’t need anymore,” said Schenectady County Legislator Richard Ruzzo, Vice-Chair of the Environmental Conservation, Renewable Energy & Parks Committee. “When we dispose of these chemicals properly it helps keep our homes and loved ones safe while safeguarding our environment for future generations.”

Date: Saturday, August 12, 2023

Time: 8:30–11:30am

Location: SUNY Schenectady’s back parking lot, 78 Washington Avenue

Participants should enter via the ramps off State Street. The Washington Avenue entrance will be exit-only.

Schenectady County hosted four HHW events in 2022 which took in a total of over 30,000 gallons of liquid materials and over 10,000 pounds of solid materials for safe disposal. This included over 19,000 gallons of paint.

Accepted Items

Acceptable items include leftover or unused household cleaners, paints and paint-related items (with the exception of empty paint containers), lawn and garden chemicals and automobile fluids (except motor oil), and a variety of other hazardous chemicals found around the house. Bring items in their original container with the original label if possible.

The HHW collection does not accept used motor oil, light bulbs/fluorescent lamps, batteries, asbestos, explosives (including ammunition), smoke detectors, medical waste, grill-sized propane tanks or larger, electronics including televisions, computers or computer accessories, or empty aerosol or paint containers.

Only materials from residential households will be accepted. No waste from commercial, industrial, institutional, or not-for-profits will be accepted.

For additional information about the HHW program, visit www.schenectadycountyny.gov/hhw or email recycling@schenectadycountyny.gov.

PaintCare

Residents and businesses can now dispose of unwanted paint for recycling at any local PaintCare drop-off site. More information about the program, including a list of paint products accepted at each location and a full list of participating sites, is available at https://www.paintcare.org/states/new-york/. The program began on May 1, 2022 in New York State.

For the latest information about Schenectady County events, programs and services, follow @SchenectadyCounty on Facebook.