RECYCLING DAY CAUSES TRAFFIC JAM; CITY SURPRISED BY TURNOUT

Mayor Al Spradling III was one of hundreds of Cape Girardeans who waited in line -- some for up to 2 1/2 hours -- Saturday morning to dispose of their household hazardous waste.

The slow-motion parade of cars and trucks at Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day began forming at 7:30 a.m. at the Arena Park 4-H Shelter. The collection site was to remain open from 8 a.m. to noon, but the line had to be closed earlier because the amount of cars and trucks and waste overwhelmed the workers from Safety-Kleen Industrial Services.

The 10 workers were contracted to work only four hours.

At one point the traffic jam extended on East Rodney to the National Guard Armory, and Cape Girardeau police were called in to direct traffic along the Arena Park interior streets.

Many people who wanted to recycle their hazardous wastes were turned away, but everyone who waited in line was served, officials said.

Pam Sander, solid-waste coordinator for the city, said the number of people who came -- between 400 and 500 cars and trucks were unloaded -- was unexpected. The eight years that have passed since the last citywide collection of hazardous waste probably contributed to the big turnout, she said.

The project is expensive. This one was aided by a $6,000 solid-waste grant.

But Sanders was making no excuses for people having to wait so long and being turned away.

"They're upset and rightfully so," she said.

She apologized on behalf of the city and said it will work on a solution to give those turned away an opportunity to recycle their hazardous wastes.

Don Lind, branch manager for Safety-Kleen, said the number of Latex paint cans being turned in contributed to the delay.

He pointed out that if dry, Latex paint can be thrown away at curbside along with ordinary household trash. Wet Latex paint can be dried with the use of kitty litter.

Wet Latex paint cannot be thrown away with typical household waste.

The hazardous-waste collection welcomed an array of wastes, from antifreeze to solvents to roofing tar. Ammunition, biological wastes and tires were among the unacceptable items.

Lind said some of the waste will be blended with fuel and burned in a kiln, some can be simply incinerated, and some like the oil and antifreeze will be recycled.

A chemist was on hand to test waste that was not labeled or unknown.

Spradling said most people were understanding of the long line. "I saw a couple people get out of their cars. They were a little upset with slowness."

He, too, was surprised by how many people spent their Saturday morning recycling.

"I was amazed, frankly," Spradling said. "These were all Cape Girardeau residents. It indicates the need for more than one recycling period for this material."