Great Barrington — The Tri-Town Board of Health is offering residents the chance to empty their homes of those pesky leftover project materials stored in local garages and basements for years.
The Household Hazardous Waste Day is set for November 9, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Great Barrington Transfer Station, 601 Stockbridge Road (Route 7), and is open to residents of the following towns: Alford, Becket, Egremont, Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, Monterey, Mount Washington, New Marlborough, Otis, Richmond, Sandisfield, Sheffield, Stockbridge, Tyringham, Washington, and West Stockbridge.
According to Tri-Town Board of Health Executive Director Dr. James Wilusz, the program’s originator, the Southern Berkshire Household Hazardous Waste Consortium, has existed for about two decades, with Tri-Town Health taking over its administrative duties 10 years ago. Tri-Town Health is the regional health department for Lee, Lenox, and Stockbridge.
“This collaborative is another example on how well the southern Berkshire communities collaborate in an effort to share services to ensure our communities get the services they deserve,” Wilusz said in a statement to The Berkshire Edge. “Hazardous waste collection is very expensive for a single community [who] wouldn’t be able to afford it nor would [it] be able to have the volume to make it sustainable.”
Under the arrangement, each town pays into the program its “fair share assessment,” providing funding that includes two collections annually, a fall event in Great Barrington and a spring event in Lee, he said.
“We collect hundreds of gallons of waste that is no longer in the waste stream,” Wilusz said, adding that registrations tally well over 300 households for each event.
If attending, please note the Consortium won’t accept certain items such as latex paint, batteries, asbestos, fireworks, construction debris, propane cylinders, fire extinguishers, fluorescent lamps, electronics, medications, and medical sharps. However, participants can drop off items from the yard and garden (pesticides, muriatic acid, fertilizer, lighter fluid); workbench (wood strippers/stain, lead- and oil-based paint, paint thinners); home (drain and oven cleaners, rechargeable batteries, arts/crafts supplies); and garage (kerosene, brake/transmission fluids, antifreeze). Mercury products (thermometers, button batteries) will also be accepted. For a full list of items to include, click here.
However, commercial users are not permitted to participate and any items of a quantity of more than 10 gallons must be approved.
Those interested in participating are required to register for the upcoming event and can sign up for a time slot here. Be sure to click “submit” after choosing your time slot.
For additional information, contact the Tri-Town Board of Health at (413) 243-5540.
