St. Charles Parish residents will have an opportunity to safely dispose of household hazardous waste during a collection event Sept. 12.
The collection will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Edward A. Dufresne Community Center in Luling.
A second collection site will open at the St. John Community Center in LaPlace.
Residents of both parishes can use either collection site, but event staff will check identification to verify residency before accepting materials.
Gabrielle Rankin, a spokesperson for the parish, said hazardous household materials require special handling and should never be placed in regular household trash.
“Items such as chemicals, paints, automotive fluids and other hazardous products can pose safety risks to residents and sanitation workers and may contaminate soil or waterways if they are not disposed of properly,” Rankin said.
Rankin said the annual collection day gives residents a convenient and responsible way to dispose of materials that cannot safely go into their regular household garbage.
“By providing a designated collection opportunity each year, we can help keep potentially harmful materials out of our waste stream, drainage system and environment while giving residents a safe option to clean these items out of their homes,” she said.
Residents can bring a variety of household hazardous materials for proper disposal or recycling, including oil-based paint, solvents, automotive and other rechargeable batteries, used oil, antifreeze, household cleaning products, aerosol cans, acids and bases, fluorescent lamps, pesticides and herbicides.
Scrap metal and major appliances will also be accepted, along with used electronics such as computers, copiers, printers, radios, televisions and other electronic devices. Tires will be accepted only at the St. Charles Parish collection site in Luling, with a limit of five tires per vehicle.
Rankin said collected materials are sorted and handled by qualified hazardous waste professionals after the event.
“Depending on the type of material, items may be recycled, recovered or transported for proper disposal in accordance with applicable environmental and safety requirements,” she said.
The hazardous waste collection day returned to the parish last year after a one-year hiatus because of rising costs and difficulty finding personnel to run the event. The COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ida had also interrupted the collection in 2020 and 2021.
St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes provided financial support for the event last year. Previously, the collection had been funded entirely by participating industries. This year’s event is also sponsored by OxyChem, Valero St. Charles, Air Products, Bunge, and W.R. Grace and Co.
Organizers are asking residents not to bring latex paint, explosives, ammunition, unidentifiable materials, medical waste, compressed gas cylinders such as propane tanks, asbestos, radioactive waste and laboratory waste.
Residents with explosives or ammunition should contact their local sheriff’s office for disposal information.
More information is available at stcharlesparish.gov.