Hazardous waste pickup day offers 'needed' service

Cape Girardeau residents threw out 22,095 pounds of hazardous household waste last year. That was fine with city officials since the trash -- everything from paint to used motor oil -- was dealt with during a hazardous waste collection day and not buried in the regular garbage.

This year's annual hazardous waste collection day will be held on Oct. 11 at the 4-H Shelter at Arena Park from 9 a.m. to noon. City officials are expecting residents will once again have plenty of trash to pitch.

"This is a very needed service," said Pam Sander, the city's solid waste coordinator.

It's also very costly, amounting to nearly $15,000 a year. That's what the city pays to a contractor to collect, haul off and recycle the hazardous materials, Sander said.

The exact cost is based on how much is collected and the types of materials that must be handled, she said.

Last year, 245 residents dropped off paint and other hazardous household waste -- an average of 90.18 pounds per vehicle.

While that's not a lot of people in a city of over 35,000 population, it still amounts to a lot of trash, city officials said.

Sander said the collection effort helps keep residents from dumping hazardous chemicals and other trash into their garbage cans.

The collection effort annually nets more used paint cans than anything else, she said. Last year, 16,000 pounds of paint and paint-related materials were collected, Sander said.

In contrast, only 1,675 pounds of used motor oil were turned in.

The city has held a hazardous household waste collection day annually since 1998.

This year's waste collection will be handled by Safety-Kleen of Cape Girardeau. Sander said the company is responsible for hauling off the trash. Much of it, like the paint, is recycled, she said.

In all, the collection effort typically involves nearly 40 city employees, the contractor's personnel and Southeast Missouri State University environmental science students, she said.

The service is open only to Cape Girardeau city residents, and those who show up with trash must sign their names and addresses on forms before they drive into the shelter where workers with Safety-Kleen will unload the hazardous materials.

About 400 residents turned out for the city's first hazardous trash collection day in 1998, creating some traffic congestion in the park.

Fewer residents have turned out in recent years.

"I think we just kind of got caught up over the years," she said.

Kenneth Werner dropped off old cans of paint at the collection day two years ago. He hasn't been back since. Werner said he hasn't had any more paint cans to discard since he cleaned out his basement.

City manager Doug Leslie said there are no plans to eliminate the service. He said the cost is covered by the trash fees paid by city residents.

Leslie said the city will continue to evaluate the demand for the service. But so far, he's seen nothing that would suggest the program should be scrapped.

"Some people save up their stuff very conscientiously," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123