HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE FACILITY ANNOUNCES

 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

One sure sign of spring is the opening of the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility (HHWCF) operated by Jackson Community Recycling (JCR).  The facility opens on Tuesday, April 7 and celebrates ten years of collecting hazardous waste in the community.  Clean out your garages, storage units and basements, and bring your hazardous waste to JCR for disposal.  The HHW collection facility will be open on the first and third Tuesday of the month from April through October.  Please note you must have an appointment to drop off hazardous waste.

“It is amazing to see all the hazardous waste that has come in during the past ten years, and each year the demand is greater and we are serving more people.  In the past ten years, we have served 3,203 customers and collected 42,000 gallons of hazardous waste – that’s roughly 4 tanker loads of waste that has been removed and disposed of.  The public should be applauded for their diligence in disposing of hazardous waste,” says Kent Jasperson, HHW facility supervisor. 

“To accommodate the public, we have added two additional collection days – Tuesday, June 30 and Tuesday, September 29,” says Heather Overholser, JCR Executive Director.  “Plus, we will be open one extra day during Spring Clean-Up Week.”

“This year we decided to raise the disposal fee for flammable liquids from $3.00 to $4.00 per gallon.  This was not an easy decision.  The fee for all other hazardous wastes will remain the same.  We realize that we’re in tough economic times, but JCR is dealing with increased transportation and processing costs.  The actual cost to dispose of hazardous waste generated at this facility is $13 per gallon,” says Overholser.  “We’ve tried to keep the disposal fees reasonable through the years by offsetting the cost of disposal with grants as much as possible, and that’s been very helpful.  In particular, JCR would like to recognize and thank Teton Conservation District, an annual supporter of the HHW program,” she adds.

“Jackson is fortunate to be one of four communities in Wyoming with a permanent hazardous waste facility,” says Overholser. The other three communities – Casper, Cheyenne, and Gillette – have larger populations and easy access to transportation for disposal. Other towns in Wyoming, such as Laramie, offer one-day collection events several times a year.  In addition to serving the public in Teton County, the HHWCF also serves residents of Sublette County, northern Lincoln County, the town of Dubois, Wyoming, and Teton County, Idaho.

Please consider implementing these practices when spring cleaning. It’s a simple and hugely important modification.

~Live Well