Dispose Of Hazardous Household Waste In Essex County At Free Collection Event

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Essex County residents will get a chance to safely dispose of “hazardous household waste” like pesticides, motor oil, barbecue propane tanks and cleaning fluid at an upcoming free collection day.

The county’s latest Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 2 at the Essex County Public Works Department, 99 West Bradford Avenue in Cedar Grove.

Here's what to know if you plan to go, organizers said:

“The Essex County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day is for Essex County residents only. Residents are not charged when they bring materials, but they must provide proof of residency at the site. Commercial businesses may not drop off materials. For more information, please call the Essex County Utilities Authority at 973-792-9060 or visit www.ecuanj.com.”

ITEMS BEING ACCEPTED – Materials being collected at the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day include pesticides and herbicides, paint thinners and solvents, oil-based paints and stains, chemistry sets, barbecue propane tanks, pool chemicals, automotive fluids such as antifreeze, motor oil and steering fluid, darkroom and photographic chemicals, lithium and NiCad batteries, fluorescent light bulbs and ballasts, mercury and products containing mercury, gasoline and kerosene, household cleaning fluids, car batteries, home fire extinguishers, driveway sealer and aerosol spray paints. All containers must be five gallons or smaller or 10 pounds or lighter.

ITEMS NOT BEING ACCEPTED – Items not being collected include latex paint (which can be dried and disposed of with regular waste), unlabeled or unidentifiable materials, asbestos, regulated medical or infectious waste, commercial or industrial waste, empty containers, explosives, munitions, ordnance or highly reactive materials, household batteries (AA, AAA, C, D, 9V), smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms.

“There are some materials that should be removed from our regular waste stream because of their hazardous nature,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said.

“This collection day provides our residents a place to properly and safely dispose of contaminants, protecting our precious environment for future generations,” DiVincenzo said.

The event is sponsored by Essex County and the Essex County Utilities Authority.

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