(Washington, DC) The DC Department of Public Works (DPW) will hold its annual spring Household Hazardous Waste and E-Cycling collection event Saturday, April 21, 2007, from 9 am to 3 pm at the Carter Barron Amphitheatre parking lot at 16th and Kennedy Streets, NW. This drop-off service is free and open to all District residents.

“We cannot overemphasize the life-saving importance of participating in this event,” said DPW Director William O. Howland Jr. “Just last month, three DPW recycling crew members were overcome by phosphoric acid that had been improperly placed in a recycling bin, which was emptied into the recycling truck. Fortunately, they were not severely injured, but this incident reminds us of the harm that can occur when these substances are not disposed of properly.” 

DC residents can bring items including leftover cleaning and gardening chemicals, small quantities of gasoline, pesticides and poisons, mercury thermometers, varnish, solvents, spent batteries of all kinds, roofing tar, chemistry sets, automotive fluids, and even asbestos floor tiles to the collection site for environmentally safe disposal.

Additionally, an electronics recycler will be onsite to take end-of-life consumer electronics including computers, computer monitors and other accessories, televisions, and office equipment. These machines will be broken down into their component parts (plastic, glass, toxic/heavy metals) and recycled or disposed of safely.

“We share the public’s concern about identity theft. Our contractor uses US Department of Defense (DOD) high-level security wiping procedures to clean hard drives on computers that are brought to this event,” said Howland. “The hard drives are wiped three times then certified as clean.”

Items that will not be accepted during the Household Hazardous Waste and Electronics Recycling Collection include ammunition, bulk trash, wooden TV consoles, propane tanks, microwave ovens, air conditioners and other appliances, as well as radioactive or medical wastes.