East King County residents can finish their spring cleaning by safely disposing of car batteries, oil and other household hazardous items when the King County Wastemobile continues its 19th year of service.
The Wastemobile will be at the Woodinville Park and Ride today and May 25.
The following week, the Wastemobile will stop at the Fred Meyer Store in Kirkland, May 30-June 1.
The Wastemobile is operated by King County as part of the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program. King County residents can drop off hazardous household waste items, including pesticides, chlorine bleach, oil-based paints, automotive products (oil, antifreeze, auto batteries, etc.), fluorescent bulbs/ballasts and other items free of charge.
One item that no longer will be accepted during household hazardous waste collection events is latex paint. Research has shown that dried or solidified latex paint can be safely disposed through the regular solid waste process.
The Wastemobile will be located in the Woodinville Park and Ride at 140th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 179th Place, while the Kirkland Wastemobile will be at the Fred Meyer store at 12221 off 120th Ave. N.E.
“The intent of the program is to ensure safe, proper disposal of hazardous products people have in their homes,” said Alexandra Thompson of King County’s Solid Waste Division. Created in 1989, the Wastemobile was the first program of its kind in the nation. In its 18 years in operation, the program collected more than 14,771 tons of household hazardous waste from over 328,650 customers.
“Our goal is to make disposal of these hazardous materials easy so that they won’t end up in the normal household trash,” Thompson said. “The high number of residents that come out to these events lets us know that we are providing an important and convenient service.”
For more information, including acceptable materials and quantity limits, call the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program’s Hazards Line at 206-296-4692, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., except holidays. Recorded information is available after hours. Information also is available on the Wastemobile Web Site at www.govlink.org/hazwaste/house/disposal/wastemobile/index.html.
