Hazardous waste collection truck makes first stop in Champaign Co.

Champaign County residents will have a more convenient way to dispose of hazardous waste thanks to a new truck equipped to accept products that can’t be thrown in the trash.

The North Central Ohio Solid Waste District’s hazardous waste collection truck made its first visit to the county on Wednesday. Residents were able to make appointments to drop off items like paint, light bulbs and fertilizers.

“We have no permanent site in Champaign County where they can do it,” said Susan Helterbran, Program Coordinator for the North Central Ohio Solid Waste District.

The agency serves six counties — Champaign, Hardin, Madison, Allen, Shelby and Union. Champaign, Hardin and Madison counties have no location to drop off hazardous waste.

That’s why the agency’s Executive Director, Dennis Baker, thought of the mobile collection unit.

“It’s a matter of convenience so we’re trying to make it more convenient,” Helterbran said.

The truck cost about $50,000, Baker said, and another $7,000 to equip it to take hazardous materials.

It will visit the three counties one day a week, Helterbran said, in hopes of preventing residents from throwing away hazardous items in the trash.

“Not only is it dangerous for our water supply, our landfills,” she said. “It’s also dangerous for your garbage man to pick up and put in the truck.”

The truck saved Urbana resident Mike Cotrell a 30 mile drive to Shelby County.

“This is a great process,” he said. “It was scheduled ahead of time so it’s not like you had to wait in line.”

Another resident had been saving his hazardous materials for a convenient time to drop them off.

“Before they started offering this I just held it in my shed and it just piled up and piled up,” Glenn Deans said. “I unloaded a whole bunch of stuff that I didn’t know what to do with.”

It’s important to dispose of hazardous materials safely, he said.

“You don’t want to throw it in the trash and contaminate a landfill,” he said. “We’ve seen our own issues with contaminated landfills around here.”

Helterbran recommends residents only buy the amount of hazardous materials needed for a particular project or try to donate it in some way. But, if an item has reached the end of its life, she said, residents should call the solid waste district.

Residents will be charged $1 per pound of hazardous waste they drop off at the truck. It will be in Champaign County again on May 24. Residents can make an appointment by calling 937-642-7283.

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