SCRANTON — Lackawanna County and its environmental sustainability office will again hold a free disposal event later this year where county residents who pre-register can safely dispose of automotive fluids, aerosols, pest poisons, chemicals and other unwanted hazardous household materials.
Commissioners Bill Gaughan and Chris Chermak recently approved a service agreement with MXI Environmental Services LLC for the disposal event to be held Sept. 28 at the Pavilion at Montage Mountain. That’s a change from recent years, when the event was held at PNC Field in Moosic.
“This will be our third year working with MXI,” county Environmental Sustainability Director Nicole Shapiro told the commissioners. “These events work really well. We enjoy working with them. … And just so residents know what we will be taking: things like pesticides, oil-based paint, pool cleaner, oil, gas, lightbulbs, fire extinguishers, all the stuff that’s been hanging out in your basements and garages for some time.”
Automotive and household batteries, floor and furniture polish, lawn herbicides, oil-based paint, rust inhibitors, stains, turpentine, thinners, driveway sealer, liquid mercury, bleach and corrosive/flammable compounds will also be accepted, among other examples.
By offering a safe and convenient disposal option for residents, the collection event should help keep more hazardous and toxic materials out of curbside trash and local landfills and reduce incidents of illegal dumping.
The ultimate cost of the event will depend on what people drop off — a pricing sheet lists the per-pound fee for different types of waste — but “chemsweep” funding from the state Department of Agriculture will cover up to the first $16,000 in costs related to the disposal of pesticides. The county also expects the state Department of Environmental Protection to reimburse 50% of the collection event’s remaining cost.
Officials ask residents to pre-register in advance to ensure the collection event is “safe and organized,” Shapiro said, noting registration will open Aug. 1.
Because the free event is only open to county residents, those dropping off materials will have to show I.D.
Information on how to pre-register will be made available online at lackawannacounty.org.