E.P.A. Sweeps Broome County; Household Hazardous Waste Collection Sites Open Through Friday

(New York, NY) Today, the E.P.A. (EPA) completed its curbside sweep of household hazardous waste (HHW) in flood-impacted areas of Broome County. Batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, cans of paint, oil and solvents and other household hazardous waste were collected yesterday and today throughout Binghamton, Vestal, Johnson city, Union and Endicott. This was 3rd full sweep by E.P.A. in those areas.

To date, E.P.A. and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) have collected over 40,000 containers of HHW from flood-ravaged neighborhoods and large containers, such as drums, tanks and cylinders that were carried away by flood waters. E.P.A. and NYSDEC expect to continue to recover these materials from properties and from the Chenango, Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers through mid-August. If you find large containers on your property as a result of flood waters, please call the NYSDEC hotline at 1-800-457-7362.

The NYSDEC and E.P.A. are running several temporary collection sites that are accepting HHW from the public. If you are a flood victim in Broome County, Chenango Co. or Tioga Co. and still have household hazardous waste, be sure to bring it to a collection location as soon as possible. The following collection sites are accepting HHW from the public through Friday, August 4th:

Broome Co.:
- Barlow Road - Dept. of Trans. on RT 54 @ intersection of Barlow Rd. & Colesville Rd.

Chenango Co.:
- Bainbridge Dept. of Transportation - ½ mile south of Village of RT 206
- Oxford - Dept. of Transportation - 4880 RT twelve

Tioga Co.:
- Owego - New York Dept. of Transportation - 1497 RT 96 (North Ave.)

As a reminder to residents, E.P.A. will not pick up waste from businesses and cannot accept waste from commercial activities at its collection centers. HHW includes batteries; paint and workshop supplies; cleaning and pool supplies; lawn and gardening products; pesticides; thermometers and thermostats; automotive products; fluorescent light bulbs; explosives, ammunition; gasoline, oil, solvents; and other hazardous chemicals. Please do not throw household hazardous waste into the garbage as this may cause additional health and environmental hazards.

If you have a question on what to do with your household hazardous waste or have other questions about household hazardous waste, please call 1-800-462-6553. You can also visit EPA's website at: http://www.epa.gov/region02 for the latest information.

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