Free Household Hazardous Waste Collection This Weekend

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), in collaboration with Rutherford County and City of Murfreesboro governments, are hosting a Household Hazardous Waste Collection (HHW) on Saturday, May 13, at the City of Murfreesboro Public Works Facility, 4765 Florence Road in Murfreesboro.

A second collection will take place this year on Saturday, November 4, 2017. Both collections are scheduled from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. TDEC is also hosting numerous HHW collections throughout the State during 2017; for an online schedule please go to: http://www.tn.gov/assets/entities/environment/attachments/sw-mm-hhw-collectionschedule-2017.pdf Tennessee citizens are allowed to dispose of household hazardous waste at any of the collections; it is not necessary to be a resident of that particular county where the collection is held.

All households are encouraged to participate. Acceptable items are home maintenance/improvement products such as used strippers and thinners, adhesives, driveway sealant, roofing tar and wallpaper remover. Home lawn and garden products that are accepted include pesticides, fertilizers and wood preservatives. In addition, acceptable miscellaneous items include pool chemicals, photo processing chemicals, aerosols/compressed gas, mercury thermostats and thermometers, fluorescent tubes, and compact fluorescent bulbs. Medicines and drugs will also be accepted, but please empty medications into a zip-lock plastic bag before bringing to the event. Needles and sharps in puncture proof containers with sealed lids are now accepted, as well. For a complete list refer to:
https://www.tn.gov/environment/article/sw-mm-household-hazardous-waste-acceptable-unacceptable-items
Items that are NOT accepted include infectious wastes, automotive gas tanks, explosives, ammunition, gun powder and fireworks. In addition, radioactive wastes such as smoke detectors and radium paint will not be accepted.
PAINT IS NOT ACCEPTED at this collection. For directions on solidifying latex paint and information on the collection of oil-based paint, please refer to http://solidwaste.rutherfordcountytn.gov/oil-based-paint.html
Electronic waste is also NOT accepted at his event. Instead, it is collected each Monday through Thursday, and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at 1140 Haley Road in Murfreesboro. For more information please go to: http://solidwaste.rutherfordcountytn.gov/electronic-waste.html

For a fee and advance reservations, small businesses may properly dispose of hazardous materials immediately following this collection through the Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator Program (CESQG). This is for businesses such as automotive painting and repair shops, beauty salons, construction companies, dentists, dry cleaners, painters, print shops, property managers, public storage businesses or any other business or not-for-profit agency that needs to dispose of hazardous materials. Please contact Clean Harbors Environmental Services at 615 643-3170 or by e-mail at [email protected] for a price quote and appointment time.
For more information please contact Mimi D. Keisling at [email protected], or call at 615 542-4633 or by logging on to http://rutherfordcountytn.gov/environmental/index.htm.