Landfill limits: What you should do with hazardous waste

GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – When an item no longer serves us we typically throw it in the trash, but it’s not considered environmentally responsible.

The average person produces 4.5 pounds of trash daily.

That garbage will usually end its journey in a landfill.

And if your garbage contains hazardous materials, that can create serious environmental problems.

The Golden Triangle Regional Landfill receives tons of garbage per day.

Executive Director of the Golden Triangle Regional Solid Waste Management Authority Jimmy Sloan said much of that waste needs to be filtered before you take the trash to the road.

“There are a lot of materials in the waste stream, particularly in houses that people don’t realize are hazardous,” said Sloan. “It may be pesticides from yard work or herbicides or fertilizers. You’d be surprised by some of the things we see on this day. Everybody’s got something, and this gives them an outlet to properly dispose of it to protect the environment.”

The Waste Management Authority is hosting an event Saturday, allowing people to bring in any hazardous waste such as aerosols, household cleaners, pesticides, electronic waste, automobile fluids, lighter fluid, rat poison, wood finish, and oil filters.

“We want you to hold it and bring it to this day so we can properly dispose of it cause we don’t want it in the landfill. Because it could cause issues,” said Sloan.

However, you should not bring explosives, infectious waste, munitions, radioactive waste, gas canisters, or freon devices such as air conditioners or refrigerators.

These items require other alternate methods of disposal.

For Saturday’s event, a contractor will transport all the chemicals collected at the event to an off-site location. Keeping the community safe is a priority for the Golden Triangle Solid Waste Management Authority. Hazardous waste can cause serious health threats to the community by way of the environment if not disposed of properly.

“The likelihood of anything escaping our landfill and getting into the groundwater is very slim but is always a possibility. But it’s very slim for our situation. The whole idea behind this type of landfill is to protect the groundwater because that’s where we get our drinking water. You don’t really wanna be putting chemicals in your drinking water,” said Sloan.

The Hazardous Waste Collection Day will be this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Golden Triangle Landfill. See a full list of approved and non-approved items below.

Official List of Items Accepted:

  • AEROSOLS
  • WOOD FINISH
  • PAINT
  • BATTERIES
  • HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS
  • CHLORINE
  • AUTOMOBILE FLUIDS
  • HERBICIDES
  • OIL FILTERS
  • RODENT POISON
  • PESTICIDES
  • ELECTRONIC WASTE
  • LIGHTER FLUID

Official List of Items NOT Accepted:

  • EXPLOSIVES
  • INFECTIOUS WASTE
  • MUNITIONS
  • RADIOACTIVE WASTE
  • GAS CANISTERS/CYLINDERS (Butane, Propane, Freon, Insulation, Etc.)
  • FREON DEVICES (Air Conditioners, Refrigerators, Etc.)
  • NO CONTAINERS OVER 5 GALLONS

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