Hazardous Waste Day Attracts Few Drop-Offs, Normally Overcrowded

The intersection at Route 25 and 111 looked like any ordinary Saturday morning on Household Hazardous Waste Day recently.

Normally jammed with traffic that winds around the commuter lot, the Public Works event attracted blips and scatters of people who came to drop off unused goods.

“Last time I came, there was a total downpour … I waited an hour just to get here,” said Liz Murphy of Monroe. “People were lined up the road so I’m wondering where everyone is.”

The weather was overcast, but the hazardous waste drop-off was barren only an hour after the start at 9 a.m. Officials could not explain the exact reason for the lack of attendance this year.

Tom Baldwin, general foreman of Public Works, said cars are usually lined up an hour before they open and the typical turnout has been about 500 cars throughout the day in past years. There was just a small wave of cars in the first half hour on Saturday.

Baldwin said they now offer Hazardous Waste Day twice a year in October in June, so perhaps less people needed to come to the June event.

Some visitors read about the hazardous waste drop-off in newspapers, but some suspected people did not know about the drop-off.

“It could be maybe there wasn’t enough advertising for it,” said Christopher Peck of Monroe, who read about the event in The Monroe Courier.

Officials said people were more likely, just clean of all their products from October’s Hazardous Waste Day.

“It was posted in the paper, so I don’t think so,” said Jose Cruz of the Highway department. “I think probably people [are] just keeping up-tight with their stuff, hopefully.” 

Busy or quiet, the Hazardous Waste Day at the very least brings some interesting vintage products from the homes of local residents. Murphy comes to the drop-off yearly as she cleans out her 91-year-old basement. Ancient varnishes and kerosene were unloaded from her car by a team within a few minutes.

“Oh it’s gone, how wonderful!” Murphy said as she left.

 Although it wasn’t as popular as in previous years, Hazardous Waste Day 2011 took burdening house supplies from residents of Trumbull, Easton and Monroe.

Baldwin said a date for the October drop off has not been set yet.