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U.S. EPA Urges Residents To Drop Off Household Hazardous Waste During Weekend Collection in Orleans Parish

Release Date: 12/2/2005
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

     The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold a special two-day collection of household hazardous waste in Orleans Parish December 3-4. EPA is asking area residents to bring hazardous products discarded from their homes to the agency's Samuel Square drop-off site, located at the intersection of Napolean Avenue and S. Saratoga Street. Residents can drop off their waste between the hours of 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

     "It's important that household hazardous waste, like cleaners and chemicals, be properly discarded to protect the public's health and prevent future environmental problems in landfills," said Michelle Jaster, an EPA emergency responder supervising the collection and disposal of hazardous waste materials in Orleans Parish. "As everyone works to restore the area's communities, getting rid of these products in the right way helps to minimize safety concerns since these products may be flammable or pose other danger," explained Jaster.

     This weekend's collection of household hazardous waste supplements the on-going curbside collection of waste that EPA has been conducting in Orleans Parish. Household hazardous waste includes products like bleach, propane, batteries, paints and containers of other household chemicals. EPA collects curbside hazardous waste daily, an operation that takes between seven to nine days to cycle through all the Orleans Parish neighborhoods.

     To date, EPA has collected nearly half a million containers of commonly-used household chemical products from the Orleans Parish alone. The total amount of household hazardous waste containers collected from the entire EPA recovery area is approximately one million.

     EPA urges residents to restrict their drop-off items to containers holding paints and other household chemical products. Electronics such as TVs and computers will not be accepted at the Samuel Square collection site. However, residents needing to discard electronic goods can drop them off at another location on Saturday, Dec. 3rd in Kenner, Jefferson Parish, as part of a one-day electronics collection event. Dell Inc., in partnership with EPA and other organizations, will collect the electronic products for recycling. Residents can drop off their damaged TVs and computer equipment at the Dell collection site on Saturday between 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Pontchartrain Center, 4545 Williams Blvd. in Kenner.

     For more information about the collection of household hazardous waste, residents should call 1-800-887-6063.