Barnstable County Collects Over 300 Tons 0f Toxic Household Materials on Cape Cod in 2023
Cooperative Extension’s successful Household Hazardous Waste Collections program protects residents from every day, toxic chemicals.
January 18, 2024 (Barnstable, MA) – Barnstable County’s Cape Cod Cooperative Extension is pleased to announce that 303 tons, or 607,272 pounds, of toxic materials were collected during the 2023 Household Hazardous Waste Collections. The collections are part of Extension’s Hazardous Waste & Water Quality program, managed by Kalliope Chute, Hazardous Materials Environmental Specialist. The program collaborates with all 15 Cape towns and the Dennis Water District to offer multiple collections to residents and small businesses, from spring to fall.
“I’m pleased we’re able to provide a collections program that has such a direct benefit to our communities,” Chute said. “Providing a service for the safe disposal of potentially hazardous materials helps Cape Codders keep their homes safe, minimizes drinking water pollution and protects our natural resources.”
The average home produces about 50 pounds of household hazardous waste (HHW) each year (US EPA). Because HHW material is considered flammable, toxic, reactive and/or corrosive, it cannot be placed with regular garbage. Typical items to dispose of include cleaning fluids, pesticides, marine/boat materials, mercury thermometers and thermostats, auto fluids, pool chemicals and paint thinner.
“Residents are becoming more aware that unwanted hazardous materials does not belong in our homes, our businesses, or our drinking water,” Chute said. “Having hazardous waste collections helps us to reach our goal of keeping Cape Cod’s sole source aquifer safe by diverting tons of toxic materials from entering our landfills and waterways annually, while protecting our first responders from chemical hazards. As people see the program’s Love Your Local Water. It’s A Cape Cod Thing. slogan in advertising and social media, they will be reminded that all of us our doing our part to make sure toxic materials are disposed of properly.”
The 2024 HHW collection season schedule and brochure will be available in late winter. Check www.LoveYourLocalWater.org and Facebook.com/LoveYourLocalWater for more information.
ABOUT CAPE COD COOPERATIVE EXTENSION
Cape Cod Cooperative Extension is the education department for Barnstable County. Educational programs focus on agriculture, marine resources, horticulture, aquaculture, natural resources, water quality, recycling, household hazardous waste, nutrition, food safety, youth development, and the county’s environmental education issues. Extension programs are conducted in Barnstable County in cooperation with the University of Massachusetts and The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution–Sea Grant program. Learn more at www.capecod.gov/extension.
ABOUT BARNSTABLE COUNTY REGIONAL GOVERNMENT OF CAPE CODBarnstable County provides exemplary government functions and services to keep our community healthy and safe, promote sustainable growth, and offer a proactive, open government that enhances the quality of life for the citizens of Barnstable County.
