St. Tammany’s Second Household Hazardous-Waste Collection Day

Brett Henry, Environmental Specialist with the Parish Department of Environmental Services, kicked everything off with instructions on safety and procedures.

As it was in October, paint was the predominant material dropped off.

Learning from our successes!

We were completely overwhelmed by the response from the Northshore community and -- so -- even more dedicated to take what we had learned and do better with our next Collection Day on Saturday, March 24th, 2007. It looks as though we are finally getting the hang of this.

Only a few weeks after the fall event, Diane Casteel and Therese Kwiecien from the Honey Island Group and Brett Henry from the Parish Department of Environmental Services started a series of meetings to collect suggestions on how to better handle the overwhelming volume.

One of the big problems the first time was that some vehicles brought much more than others, and often the whole line would bog down while we unloaded that one car or truck. The solution: Two lines and someone at the head of both triaging and sending the heavy loads to one side and the lighter to the other! This worked like a charm.

The first time, not knowing what to expect, we had way too few volunteers. So, Diane, Therese, and Brett shook the trees vigorously, drumming up two to three times as many helpers, and the vendors brought more people too. Still, as the cars and trucks began lining up at 7:30am, we all wondered what to expect.

“Smooth as silk” is what happened. After opening at 9:00am, the initial surge ebbed within a half-hour or so. Right away, it became obvious that the months of work were paying off. Although we were able to do no more than unload vehicles in October before closing at noon, now we could actually collect materials into groups and move them onto pallets and into boxes and drums! In fact, when we broke for lunch shortly after 1:00pm, most of the materials were loaded onto trucks, and the site was almost clear.

Cars were lined up from 7:30am, but quickly the rush settled, and we were able to process cars and trucks in a steady stream. After less than an hour, the line was no more than 20 minutes long.

Of course, at the first Collection Day, people brought materials that had been in garages for years. This time, there was less of that.

We did have one problem that was the same as in October: Paint cans without labels. We have to obtain permits for all materials we collect -- and set up channels that can process everything either as recycled materials or for proper disposal. Without labels there is simply no way for us to tell what is in the cans and so whether or how we can process them! We apologize to everyone we had to turn away; in the future we will try to be more clear that we can only accept items on our published list. We have more information here on what to do with materials we could not collect.

In fact, the cars and trucks flowed so smoothly, the pace was so relaxed, it became a lot like one large family outing!

Our final count was 470 cars and trucks!

Clearly, volunteers -- lots of them! -- are the key. If you would like to take part in our next Collection Day, either beforehand getting the word out or during the day itself, please contact Diane Casteel at 999Diane@charter.net or 985.626.5268. You'll be glad you did!

More batteries and e-waste!

Tires! All sizes and lots of them!!

Finally, at the end of the session, we all came up with ways to properly dispose of pepperoni pizza. No EPA permits required!

The Future

However, there is no provision in the Parish budget for this! If you think management of hazardous houseold waste should be an important part of our local government's work, please contact Parish President Kevin Davis or your local Parish Councilman or the Parish Department of Environmental Services.

Last updated: 3.28.2007