EPA, State and County to Launch Household Hazardous Waste Pickup and Drop-Off in Suffolk County

EPA Press Release:

EPA, State and County to Launch Household Hazardous Waste

Pickup and Drop-Off in Suffolk County

 

Contact: John Martin, 646-592-1425, martin.johnj@epa.gov or Elias Rodriguez, 732-672-5520, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – Nov. 11, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Suffolk County will collect and properly dispose of potentially hazardous common household products from flood-damaged homes in Suffolk County. Beginning on Nov. 12, people in affected homes may bring household products, including solvents, paints, cleaners, oil, propane tanks, batteries, petroleum products, weed/bug killers, car batteries, bleach and ammonia, to one of four drop-off locations. In addition, starting on Nov. 12, residents of Islip, Babylon, Patchogue, Mastic Beach and Riverhead can put waste products on the curb for pickup. The drop-off and pickup locations are listed below:

Venetian Shores Park, 801 Granada Parkway, Lindenhurst, NY

Islip Multipurpose Recycling Facility, 1155 Lincoln Avenue, Holbrook, NY

Wastewater Treatment Plant, 1 Hammond Street, Patchogue, NY

Highway Barn, 1177 Osborn Road, Riverhead, NY (*begins Tues., Nov. 13*)

“Household hazardous waste, such as petroleum products, old paint and pesticides can be dangerous and should be disposed of properly to protect people’s health and the environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “The EPA is urging people to separate potentially hazardous products from their regular trash and bring them to one of the newly established drop-off locations or place them on the curb in areas with curbside pickup.”

Oil-contaminated debris or material contaminated by other petroleum or chemical products should be separated and stored in a well-ventilated area. If stored outdoors, the piles should be covered to keep rain from contaminating nearby soil and water. Any chemical or oil spills, such as from home heating oil tanks, must be reported to DEC through the agency’s Spills Hotline at 1-800-457-7362.

It is also important to clean and disinfect everything touched by flood waters as quickly as possible, since they may contain bacteria or toxic chemicals from sources as varied as garden chemicals, heating oil and sewage.

Porous items need to be dried right away to prevent mold. If possible, household furnishings should be cleaned or disinfected. If they cannot be cleaned, they should be discarded. Hard, non-porous surfaces should also be cleaned. For detailed advice, see the State Department of Health’s website http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/emergency/weather/hurricane/ and http://www.epa.gov/sandy/factsheets.html

For more information on handling household hazardous waste in Suffolk County, visit: http://epa.gov/sandy/pdf/R2SuffolkHHW.pdf

The EPA and DEC have also worked with communities to establish temporary storage areas for storm-generated debris. New Yorkers can find more information by calling the EPA at 888-283-7626 or the DEC regional office on Long Island at 516-444-0375 during normal business hours to obtain specific disposal information.

More information can be found at http://www.epa.gov/sandy

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2.

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