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WORLAND — Grab that old can of paint that doesn’t match anything in the house anymore, your old car battery and your old computer monitor and head to the Washakie County Solid Waste Disposal District landfill northwest of Worland on May 5.

Six different agencies in the county working together as the R3 (reduce, reuse and recycle) Coalition are again sponsoring the biannual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day for Washakie County residents. Washakie County Weed and Pest Supervisor Jarrod Glanz said the collection day has been going on for years and originally started out at the Weed and Pest. It was moved to the landfill about 10-12 years ago, he said.

Originally, Weed and Pest was able to obtain grant funding to offset costs of the collection day. With cutbacks the grant funding is gone, so the six agencies — Washakie County Weed and Pest, Washakie County Conservation District, Department of Homeland Security/Washakie County Emergency Management, WCSWDD, Washakie County Public Health, Worland Fire Department combine efforts to support the day either with financial support or in-kind and voluntary help.

The Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the landfill. Items being collected for the special collection can be dropped off for no charge. Regular refuse will still be charged.

Items being collected include pesticides, herbicides, antifreeze, outdated or unused prescription and over the counter drugs, household cleaners, household batteries, photography chemicals, paint, used motor oil, strong acids, household solvents, car and truck batteries, rechargeable batteries, refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners and electronic waste — laptops, cell phones, computers, televisions, monitors and DVD players.

They cannot accept explosives, fireworks, gunpowder, ammunition, radioactive waste and biohazard waste and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls).

Glanz said Brown’s Western Appliance will be picking up the refrigerators and freezers, Yellowstone E-Waste of Billings will be collecting e-waste except the cell phones, which will be donated to the conservation district for their cell phones for soldiers program.

Clean Harbors out of Denver, Colorado, will be transporting the chemical waste. Glanz said they have set a preliminary budget for Clean Harbors of $15,000.

The landfill handles the recycling for the large batteries as they are accepted year-round. The landfill does not accept household batteries year-round.

The paint is available to people for free to pick up. Glanz said they strain old paint through screens to catch any particles. They then mix paint to make new and fun colors, seal the cans and they are then given away. This is only for latex paints, he noted.

Last year they received 200 gallons of latex paint and only had six cans that had to be recycled.

Mike Siegried, landfill manager, said people are already inquiring about getting paint.

They also collected 3,000 pounds of electronic waste, 1,100 gallons of used oil, 4,000 pounds of solid pesticides, 550 gallons of liquid pesticides and 50 refrigerators/freezer/air conditioners.

So why do the agencies continue to offer the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day — to keep off public lands or other improper areas of disposal, to keep out of the landfill, to ensure clean water and to “just try and do the right thing.”

Glanz said, “You would think after so many years it would decrease but it seems like it increases every year.”

Paint and household cleaners are usually the main items people drop off.

VOLUNTEERS

Along with the many agencies involved, they also need lots of volunteers. Ideally they would like about 60 volunteers. Last year they had about 40. Glanz said the more volunteers the faster things go, especially in the paint area.

Volunteers must arrive by 8 a.m. for the safety training. Lunch is provided by the agencies for the volunteers.

Glanz said, “Consider helping for a few hours to promote a cleaner, healthier Washakie County.”

Anyone interested in helping out may contact Glanz at 347-8582 or via email at [email protected].