Town of Smithtown Embraces Household Hazardous Waste Collection

On Saturday April 30, 2011 the Town of Smithtown opened its municipal services facility to residents for the collection of household hazardous waste.  The event was declared successful with two hundred and ninety-three families participating. The town collected 22,750 pounds (11.5 tons) of hazardous material.  The materials collected included oil based paint, gasoline, paint thinners, corrosives, pesticides, herbicides and miscellaneous toxic liquids and solids.  

The Town of Smithtown held its first Household Hazardous Waste Event in 2009. In April of ’09, Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment presented Supervisor Vecchio and the Town Board with petitions containing 3,000 signatures from Smithtown residents calling for a hazardous waste collection program. In addition to the petitions approximately 1,500 letters were sent to Supervisor Vecchio and council members. The letters were from residents requesting a program to allow for the safe disposal of hazardous items stored in basements, garages and too often being disposed illegally.

The Town has been hosting waste collection events since 2009.  The April event was conducted by Radiac Environmental Services of Brooklyn, New York. The firm won the contract through a competitive bid process. The cost to the Town of Smithtown was $19,010.00. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will reimburse the Town $6,390.00 of the cost.

“The household hazardous waste collection event was a real success. We had great participation. Smithtown residents want to do the right thing. Participating in a household hazardous waste collection event allows people to safely dispose of old chemicals. It also heightens awareness that not everything offered for sale is a good thing to have and use around the house and our families. We should all try to minimize or avoid buying toxic products in the first place,” said Smithtown Town Supervisor Patrick R. Vecchio. (TOS Website)

The Town is scheduled to host another hazardous waste collection event in the fall.