EPA, State and City Launch Household Hazardous
Waste
Drop-Off
in New York City
Contact: Elias Rodriguez, 732-672-5520,
rodriguez.elias@epa.gov
or Sophia Kelley, 212-637-3670, kelley.jessicasophia@epa.gov
(New York, N.Y. – December 7, 2012)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and
the New York City Department of Sanitation are collecting and properly disposing
of potentially hazardous common household products from flood-damaged homes and
residences in New York City. Beginning on Dec. 10 and continuing through Dec.
21, residents of the five boroughs of New York City may bring household
products, including solvents, paints, cleaners, oil, propane tanks, batteries,
petroleum products, weed/bug killers, car batteries, bleach and ammonia, to a
drop-off location at Jacob Riis Park. The drop-off address is:
Jacob Riis Park, 14899 Beach Channel Drive, Rockaway Park,
NY
Hours:
9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Enter
through main entrance and follow cones and flag men to the staging area. Drive
carefully and please refrain from smoking in the vicinity of the collection
area.
“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 who were impacted by the
flood waters from Hurricane Sandy to separate potentially hazardous products
from their regular trash and bring them to our collection area.”
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 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 pesticides, 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
The
New York City Department of Sanitation will be picking up white goods, such as
refrigerators and other appliances, and will remove the refrigerants from
refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners. Refrigerants include
chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons, which are greenhouse gases.
These refrigerants will be removed from appliances by the city using EPA
certified recovery systems before the items are crushed or taken apart for
recycling.
The
New York City’s Department of Sanitation offers updates at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dsny/html/home/home.shtml.
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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