Several neighborhoods around Cache Valley have been conductinghazardous waste collections, to ensure items such as oil, paint, electronics and prescription drugs are properly disposed of. Many truckloads of bikes, electronics, old cleaning supplies, and other households hazardous waste, were disposed of at two collection events.
Logan resident, Julie Huppy said it was extremely convenient,
“Well, we saw the add in the newspaper, and have a lot of things we didn’t know how to get rid of so this was a great opportunity for us today,” Huppy said.
Emily Malik, conservation coordinator for Logan City, said the collections are more convenient, and citizens may not be aware of what items should be brought to the landfill.
“So I would say anything that has a caution warning such as poison, dangerous or flammable makes it dangerous, or something that we don’t want in our landfill," she said. "We do this because of the potential of it getting into the water system or causing a negative reaction in our landfill like causing a fire, or some sort of chemical reaction.”
Improper disposal of prescription medications can produce contamination of waterways and sensitive information on labels can result in identity theft. Craig Mott, evidence custodian for Logan City Police said all prescription bottles are incinerated.
“It’s called a witness burn, and we actually place it ourselves in the incinerator at the incinerator plant and we watch them drop the lid on it, and push the button. So this way the bottle and all the medication is completely destroyed, so there is no chance of abuse or identity theft.”
The Logan Police Department also accepts EpiPens and syringes, and all items can be dropped at the police department Monday through Friday. Waste can always be disposed of for free at Logan City Landfill, and there is one more hazardous waste collection, Saturday, July 15th at the Smithfield City Hall parking lot from 9:00 a.m. to noon.
