FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 21, 2001

Contact:       David Baker, Thurston County Department of Water and Waste Management, Solid Waste Division, 786-5136

Thurston County residents deliver tons of toxic products

OLYMPIA – Thurston County residents dropped off a record-breaking 8.1 tons of household toxic items at Capital Mall from Friday, Sept. 14 through Sunday, Sept. 16.

The Thurston County “WasteMobile” collected the items in a parking lot near J.C. Penney and disposed of the products safely. Thurston County Solid Waste and the City of Olympia Water Resources Program sponsored the event.

County residents safely discarded a wide range of toxic products that could otherwise poison family members or the environment. Pesticides, antifreeze, oil-based paints, and motor oil were among the products brought to the site.

The WasteMobile is a traveling collection station that gathers household toxic wastes in various areas of Thurston County. The Capital Mall event set a record for the amount of toxic waste collected by the WasteMobile in a single location.

Residents who missed the WasteMobile can instead bring their products to Thurston County’s year-round, permanent site named “HazoHouse.” HazoHouse is located at the Thurston County Waste and Recovery Center (formerly known as the Hawks Prairie Landfill). The address is 2420 Hogum Bay Road N.E. near Lacey.

HazoHouse is open Friday and Monday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

HazoHouse accepts oil-based paint, glues, pesticides, thinners and solvents, car batteries, antifreeze, motor oil and filters, cleaners, pool and hobby chemicals, and fluorescent lights.

Staff will not accept garbage, latex paint, empty containers, medical wastes, explosives, ammunition, compressed gas cylinders, and business-related wastes.

For more information, call the Thurston County WasteLine at 754-4348 or visit www.co.thurston.wa.us/wwm.