Function of recycling centers (Houston, West: house, gated, disposal)

[vwgto]

For the last 20+ years I have lived where household recycling was available. It becomes a habit, and no issue. Since in Texas, I had been accumulating several paint cans in the garage. On a Saturday, I drove the 15 miles RT to a Montgomery County center and found that they only took resident household chemicals on Wednesday, and the third Saturday. Frustrated I did not read their site info more carefully, that they have such limits on a Saturday - - and I was instructed to come back. I did the 15 miles RT again, and was charged $20 to get rid of several cans of mostly latex paint. I started to wonder about the purpose of the recycling center taking harmful items, and if their schedule/policies match-up. In Georgia, as an example, they always accepted and did not charge. Where all of our trash pick-up is done by truck lift, it is easy for people to put vitrually anything in their trash can. I would think the objective of taking household chemicals was to keep them out of the landfill and, therefore, they would try to make it as easy as possible - - taking the items every Saturday, and only charging a nominal fee (if anything). What am I missing?

[Oildog]

You are looking for a dump. Paint and household chemicals are NOT recyclable. Try sorting your glass, cardboard and aluminum out.

[elnina]

Oh, please don't DUMP the paint!!
Paint AND household chemicals are recyclable.

If these products end up in the landfill or are poured down the drain, they can leach toxic chemicals and heavy metals into the soil and groundwater. Old containers of household chemicals can deteriorate and leak, causing dangerous fumes and fires when stored inside your house or polluting rain water runoff when stored outside.

Here what you can do:

If you are trying to dispose of latex paint, used oil, used oil filters, anti-freeze, car battery or rechargeable batteries etc., you can bring those items to the the City of Houston's Westpark Consumer Recycling Center, or Environmental Service Center. There should be no charge.
The list of items is much longer, so check the links below.

Info, phone#, business hours, locations, maps:
Westpark Consumer Recycling Center
environmental service centers
Household Hazardous Waste

Requirements, and where to get rid of household hazardous waste (more locations) - please read:
Dispose of hazardous household materials properly
Drop of sites by county
Houston paint disposal - Google search

[vwgto]

Regarding the comment around what is "recycleable", below is from the Montgomery Recycle site. Though not sure if they do it here, old latex paint can all be mixed to produce a high-solids high-quality paint.

Reuse Center

Need some household cleansers, solvents, paint or turpentine? If you are a Montgomery County resident or a Montgomery County non-profit organization, come by the Reuse Center and pick up these items free. Herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, and pool chemicals may also be available.

[Oildog]

Recycling is a fuzzy word here. Those items can be considered hazardous waste, if they come from domestic use they get labeled as household HW and different rules apply. They need to be separated from regular trash and 'traditional' recycling material like cardboard, aluminum and glass. The metal recyclers who pay $2 bills will not take HHW. Check the links or call the facility before dropping off materials (paints, chemicals, batteries, computer parts, etc), as latex and oil based paints are not treated the same for example.

I am unaware (skeptical) about picking up free used fertilizers and chemicals at these facilities. But Montgomery county is a bit more rural than Harris, so they may be more lenient (rightly or not).

[vwgto]

No doubt it is a complicated situation. My original point: since we all generate various hazardous materials (things that should not be tossed in the trash can), and since the communities have acknowledged this and have facilities to accomodate, does it not make sense that they make it as easy as possible to utilize? Ths includes clear/frequent communciations, user-friendly facility hours, and minimal/no drop-off fees.

[Oildog]

In Harris county they do. We have green trash bins for our recycling materials that are picked up twice a month. But they list what products must be segregated out. It can't be one size dumps all anymore.

Elnina put up some good links if questions come up.

[Poltracker]

The problem with pick up for HHW is the transportation. Many household chemicals are incompatible with one another and if they are not on a safe, tightly sealed, container, can cause some bad problems with transportation. I have seen fires in garbage trucks as a result of this (pool chemicals and varnish do not get along for example). The material types have to be segregated for safety when transported and this can be time consuming and is really not practical. There are also additional DOT, EPA, and state regulations that have to be dealt with. HHW is generally disposed of, not recycled. Exceptions are sometimes paint and used motor oil.

If you are looking for a recycling center go to: Earth911.com | More Ideas, Less Waste
and hit the recycling search button. Enter your zip and the type of waste and options will pop up. Local centers times, what wastes they take, and resident restrictions will be listed.

[Chris V]

Vwgto

I feel you. I too feel like they make it too complicated for us to do the right thing.

I got to the point. I simply call the 1 800 got junk people. They do charge a large fee. They deal with it.
They claim to recycle, but I ve seen them at the same dump site I go to.
So I m missing something too.