832 vehicles show up to drop off paint, batteries, chemicals

Published 9:11 am Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Warren County residents Saturday got rid of lot of old household chemicals, used oil and other items during the county’s hazardous waste disposal day at Warren Central High School.

“We had a very good turnout,” said Katie Strong, Warren County’s solid waste officer. “We had 832 vehicles go through Saturday. Our largest was 883 last year. Saturday’s turnout was smaller, but it was still very good. Before last year, we had averaged about 600 cars.”

Saturday’s collection was the county’s 20th annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day, which allows residents to drop off items such as paint, old batteries or fluorescent light bulbs so they can be disposed of properly. The program was sponsored by the Warren County Supervisors and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

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The supervisors partnered with Care Environmental from Orlando, Fla., which disposed of the collected materials properly.

Strong said there were several reasons for the increased participation, citing word-of-mouth, social media and banners at Warren Central announcing the hazardous waste day.

But the main reason, she believes, is “people are becoming more environmentally conscious and they want to take their materials where they’ll be disposed of properly instead of just tossing it in the garbage can.

“For many people, this is a big thing. The younger people who have grown up with environmental education are more aware. People save up their stuff all year for this day when they know they can take it and it will be disposed of in an environmentally safe manner.”

Preliminary numbers indicate that from the time the collections began at 8 a.m. and ended at 2 p.m., workers collected 1,000 gallons of oil, 142 55-gallon drums of old paint and hazardous and flammable liquids, 500 fluorescent bulbs, 600 light bulbs, 86 propane tanks and 532 tires. Keys recycling reported getting 26,200 pounds of scrap metal.

Strong said the other items collected were still being processed, and she would have the final totals by the end of the week.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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