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Hamden, N.Y. – Now in its seventh year, CleanSweep
Chemical Disposal Day continues to be a hit with farms,
business owners and households in Delaware County. The only
significant complaint heard over this year’s two-day
collection, held on September 12 and 13, is that it only
happens once a year. Throughout the two-day event, 16 farms,
15 businesses and 207 individuals lined up to unload their
unsafe material to technicians from Care Environmental,
Inc., based in Landing, New Jersey and Edison Computers
of Oneonta.
Overall, 186 drums of waste were packed off for safe disposal
by the contractor, who has provided this service for two
years running. American Lamp Recycling of Fishkill, New
York handled fluorescent bulbs and PCB-containing capacitors.
Volunteer help from Bruce and Terry Dolph of Walton, Peg
Kenyon of East Meredith, Joe Wright of Masonville, and Sahara
Gay of Walton helped keep the collection day running smoothly.
| Disposing
of electronics safely is becoming increasingly important
to keeping toxic material out of the landfill. |
What were in all those drums? 44.1% of the material collected
was paint, stain and varnish; pesticide and herbicides comprised
11.8%; 10.1% solvents and strippers; 8.5% electronics, one
of CleanSweep’s newest categories. Remaining items
included fluorescent bulbs, automotive fluids, and cleaners.
In a survey completed by attendees, organization of the
event was given top billing, with 91% of attendees rating
it very well.
| Marianne
Kiraly of Cornell Cooperative Extension collects a feedback
survey from happy Cleansweep customers. |
What happens to all this stuff? Electronics and paint and
some components of fluorescent bulbs are recycled. Materials
like pesticides and flammables are incinerated at high temperature
under controlled conditions to completely destroy them.
“We collected 38 tons of hazardous and toxic material.
Our goal is to give it the best home possible. First, we
get it out of homes, businesses and farms to keep ourselves
safe. By going a step further, we can also keep our landfills,
groundwater and streams safe as well. CleanSweep pulls hazards
out of the waste stream permanently,” said Susan McIntyre,
Delaware County Solid Waste Coordinator.
Over 40% of CleanSweep customers were repeat customers.
“The marvelous part of this statistic is that it means
that, though these unsafe materials continue to be part
of our lives, the way we deal with them has changed. Instead
of pouring them down the drain, people are coming back every
year because they know this is the safest way to dispose
of it.” stated McIntyre.
| Volunteers
on the CleanSweep 2003 team help with traffic control
and check-in so the collection day runs smoothly. |
Funding for this year’s CleanSweep was provided by
New York City Department of Environmental Protection, through
the Walton-based Watershed Agricultural Council and New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Support
and volunteer coordination came from Cornell Cooperative
Extension of Delaware County, while Delhi Fire Department
provided a safe drop-off site for farmers and business owners.
Registration was handled by Delaware County Department of
Economic Development. Ads for next year’s CleanSweep
appear locally throughout the year, and registration for
next year’s event will begin in August 2004.
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