Town of Smithtown Sets New Record in Largest Hazardous Household Waste Ever, Collecting 39 Tons of Waste from 860 Homes

Smithtown, NY: The Town of Smithtown Department of Environment and Waterways collected 39 tons of waste at the hazardous household waste event this weekend. On Saturday, April 24th, approximately 860 Smithtown households participated in safely disposing 78,000 pounds of toxic items, which are prohibited in regular curbside waste pickups. This was a record number of residents for a single collection event since the hazardous waste event program began in 2009.

 Residents were asked to wear face masks and not to leave their cars, to protect everyone’s wellbeing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“I want to personally commend Mike Engelmann and Rich Kitt, the Department of Environment and Waterways, along with Neal Sheehan, his foreman Tom Passariello, the amazing team at MSF,
Fire Marshall Nick Kefalos, and the Department of Public Safety, all who devoted their Saturday to tirelessly serving the community and our precious environment. We’ve added additional collection events to the calendar year and still, we are seeing growing community participation. Setting a record such as this one is proof positive that the residents of Smithtown are increasingly more committed to preserving our home and our ecosystem for future generations to come.” - Supervisor Ed Wehrheim

Smithtown Municipal Services Facility employees worked in conjunction with the Department of Environment and Waterways Environmental Director David Barnes and Solid Waste Coordinator Mike Engelmann to safely secure over forty three (55) gallon drums, twenty seven (1) cubic yard boxes and two full 30 cubic yard roll-off containers loaded up with paints/solvents, etc. The exact weight collected was 39.00 tons (scale house net) in hazardous materials. Materials were collected and manifested for disposal by Radiac Research Corp. In addition to residents dropping off hazardous household waste, many circled their vehicles around to pick up bags of free mulch on the way out.

A portion of the waste collected for manifested disposal include: waste oil based paints/flammable paints, gasoline, paint thinners, waste gases, petroleum distillates, flammable solids, oxidizers liquids and solids, sodium/potassium nitrates, acids, corrosives, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, misc. toxic liquids (i.e. Chlordane, etc.) and solids, lacquers, lithium batteries, battery acids and various other toxic compounds. The New York State DEC is expected to reimburse the Town for 50% of the contractor expense for this event.

The next Household Hazardous Waste events are scheduled for Saturday, July 10, 2021 and Saturday, October 2, 2021. These events are for Smithtown Township residents only. Proof of residency will be strictly enforced.

DID YOU KNOW:

Residents can also dispose of Electronic waste, free of charge, at the Town Recycling Center (also located at 85 Old Northport Road). Electronic Waste such as computers, printers, TV’s, monitors, automotive and household batteries can be dropped off during regular hours for proper recycling. This is a free service. Proof of residency is required.Mulch is also available FREE OF CHARGE to residents. Smithtown residents can line up for Pre-packaged bags of mulch with a maximum of ten (10) bags per visit. We offer free loading of loose mulch into your pick-up or dump truck. (Cover required)

The Smithtown Municipal Services Facility, is located at 85 Old Northport Road in Kings Park, NY.
Regular Operating Hours: Tuesday through Saturday From 7:00 am to 11:45 am and 12:45 pm to 3:15 pm)