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Mark your calendars! CVSWMD has scheduled five one-day collection events for Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) this year for District residents to safely dispose of Household Hazardous Waste.
What to Bring: Automotive fluids, aerosols, chemical cleaners, fuels, paint thinners, solvents, pesticides, etc. Look for warning words on product containers like Danger, Warning, Toxic, Hazard, Flammable, Poisonous, Reactive, or Corrosive.
Event Fees: $20 per vehicle, cash or check only (in-district residents* only). Businesses, towns, and schools must call to register at least two weeks in advance for HHW collections.
Event rules:
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No batteries, bulbs, propane tanks, mercury devices, or electronics (we take these items at the Additional Recyclables Collection Center year-round!)
- No containers larger than 5 gallons can be accepted at these events; waste containers will not be returned
- Keep all products in their original containers
- All materials must be in trunk or bed of vehicle
- No pets
- No smoking
For full event details and more information on what to bring, visit our Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events page on our website.
*These events are open to residents of the CVSWMD towns only: Barre City, Barre Town, Berlin, Bradford, Calais, Chelsea, Duxbury, East Montpelier, Fairlee, Hardwick, Middlesex, Montpelier, Orange, Plainfield, Tunbridge, Walden, Washington, Williamstown, and Woodbury.
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This article was written by Charen Fegard, CVSWMD's Household Hazardous Waste Program Coordinator. | |
We use chemicals to clean and disinfect because they remove dirt and kill germs better than plain water does, but it is very important to use safer products. Most people believe that any chemical product for sale at the store must be safe but, in fact, the US has few consumer protections. Since World War II, more than 140k synthetic chemicals have been produced; about 1k-2k new compounds are synthesized each year, and approximately 800 are known, or suspected, to interfere with endocrine system function (aka hormone disruption). To protect your and your loved-ones’ health, follow these guidelines when choosing a household cleaner or disinfectant.
1. Choose Fragrance Free to avoid unnecessary toxic exposure. One fragrance can contain several dozen chemicals, including those known or suspected to harm lungs, neurological and organ systems, fertility, pregnancy or even cause cancer and these ingredients are protected as trade secrets. Even strong ‘natural’ fragrances can have adverse health impacts. “Unscented” sounds good but means that chemicals were used to mask an odor.
2. Use spray pump rather than pressurized aerosol cans, as common aerosol propellants (butane and propane) are neurotoxins.
3. Choose products that disclose ALL ingredients on the label and that contain more natural ingredients.
4. Rely on reputable 3rd party organizations to vet products for safety. The Environmental Working Group’s database for household chemical products rates them for safety. If you see one of these logos on a product, it meets minimum safety standards.
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5. Cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting products that contain hazardous chemicals must have a capitalized Signal Word on the bottom of the front label indicating the level of immediate health hazard. The safest cleaners need no signal word and those with WARNING are safer than those labeled DANGER. Diluted, fragrance-free dish soap is a very effective and safe cleaning agent.
Sanitizer and disinfectant signal words, from safest to most hazardous, include CAUTION, WARNING and DANGER. Disinfecting has a limited place in the home, such as handles and knobs in the bathroom and other high touch or high contamination surfaces, or when the stomach flu pays a visit.
6. Choose disinfectants with safer active ingredients, like peroxide, citric acid or ethanol (aka ethyl alcohol) and avoid chlorine bleach or quaternary ammonium compounds (Quats), which contain “ammonium chloride” or “benzalkonium chloride” in their ingredient name.
7. As a rule, avoid these chemicals.
It is important to understand that children are especially vulnerable to chemical harm. Even if they are past the developmental stage of putting everything in their mouths, their systems are still forming and are less able to process chemicals or resist damage from the exposure. They have higher metabolisms and breathe more for their size, which increases the dose they receive. And they have many more decades to develop diseases caused by exposure at such a young age.
Following these guidelines can help you keep a clean home that is also safer for you, your family and your pets.
For more details about healthier cleaning products or making your own safe cleaners, visit our Reducing Toxics page on our website!
To dispose of your household hazardous chemicals in a way that protects the air, water and human health, bring it to one of CVSWMD’s 2024 HHW Collection Events. We look forward to seeing you there!
- Charen Fegard, HHW Program Coordinator
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Spring is just over the horizon, which means it's almost time to swap out those winter tires! You may have heard that we can no longer take tires at the Additional Recyclables Collection Center - however, there are still other disposal options!
Every autumn, Capstone Community Action holds the Wheels for Warmth collection event where you can donate tires to help provide emergency heating assistance to vulnerable Vermonters. They collect tires at multiple locations. They don't have their dates and locations set for 2024 yet, but you can view the Wheels for Warmth event page here and stay tuned for updates!
If your old tires are still in good enough condition to be used, try donating or selling them on Facebook marketplace, Front Porch Forum, or Craigslist.
Many mechanics and tire retailers will dispose of your old tires for a small fee (typically $3 - $5 per tire) when you swap them out or buy new ones - check with your local shop to see if they provide this service!
Grunts Move Junk is a hauler that has partnered with Wheels for Warmth and will pick up tires from your home or business. You can also view our full list of licensed haulers in the District on our website.
If all else fails, contact your local transfer station - although tires are landfill-banned, some transfer stations will take them for recycling. For example, Montpelier's transfer station at 418 US Route 2 and Barre's Wilson Depot both take them. Check out our Transfer Station page on our website for a complete list of transfer stations in the District. You can also use the State's Materials Management Map to locate the transfer station closest to you.
Visit the Department of Environmental Conservation's tire page for more information on disposal options, or to find out how to dispose of large quantities of tires!
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CVSWMD is a 19-member union municipality with a mission to provide “leadership, education and services for residents and businesses in reducing and managing their solid waste, with a vision for working toward a zero waste community by reducing waste. All of CVSWMD’s programs work toward its mission and goals.
CVSWMD member towns include: Barre City, Barre Town, Berlin, Bradford, Calais, Chelsea, Duxbury, East Montpelier, Fairlee, Hardwick, Middlesex, Montpelier, Orange, Plainfield, Tunbridge, Walden, Washington, Williamstown, and Woodbury.
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