May 18, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                       

Contact:  Brigitte Kantor, Lee County Solid Waste Division
                  (239) 338-3302                       

Hurricane Preparedness Household Chemical Waste Collection,  Saturday, May 19, 2007, Page Field
 
FORT MYERS, Fla. (May 18, 2007) – Hurricane Season starts June 1st, the Solid Waste Division urges you to include the removal of old or unwanted hazardous chemicals such as automotive fluids, fertilizers, drain cleaners, paint, and pesticides from garages and storage sheds as part of the hurricane preparation.  Hurricane floodwaters may produce an environmental emergency posing a threat to the public health, or the well being of our environment, caused by the release or likely release of hazardous chemicals into our water supply.   

Please take hazardous chemicals to the Lee County Solid Waste Division's Household Chemical Waste Collection on Saturday, May 19, 2007  from 8 AM to 2 PM at Page Field on North Airport Road.  The May 26th, 2007 date as printed on the May page of the 2007 Solid Waste Calendar is not a valid date.  Please note that the actual collection date is May 19th, 2007.  

The recent construction project at Page Field has resulted in a change of the usual traffic pattern pertaining to the entrance and exit to the drop off site.  Residents are asked to follow the directions of Department of Transportation flag personnel who will ensure safe traffic flow to the entrance and exit from the site.      

Residents may bring old and unwanted paint, thinners, polishers and paint strippers, drain cleaners, pool chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, automotive fluids, car and boat batteries, fluorescent tubes, ammunition and flares, propane gas tanks, anything labeled corrosive, poison, flammable, corrosive or explosive.  The Solid Waste Division also accepts used cooking oil.  Additionally, computers, monitors, keyboards, mice, printers, scanners, fax machines, copiers, televisions, stereos, VCR's, cell phones, and other electronic devices are collected.  All items are accepted whether in working or non-working condition.   

The following items are not accepted at the collection and need to be disposed of in the regular household garbage:

Empty paint cans, empty pool chemical containers and other empty chemical containers

This collection is strictly for residential households!  For the safety of the residents we ask that smoking material is extinguished when entering the facility and that residents remain in their vehicles during the unloading process.   

Remember to please keep our environment save and clean by keeping all these materials out of our normal solid waste stream! Keep recyclable material out of the regular household garbage cans use your recycling bin to recycle glass, plastic, steel and aluminum containers as well as all paper including junk-mail, cardboard and fiberboard!   

The next Household Chemical Waste Collection is scheduled for July 21, 2007 at the Public Works Annex in Cape Coral. 

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