San Juan County's first hazardous waste collection ("round-up") was held in 1989, yielding an unexpectedly high 23 tons of toxic, flammable, corrosive, and reactive chemical waste from island households and businesses. Since then, the county's Hazardous Waste Project has has collected over 200 tons of waste chemical products that were safely transported by certified contractors to the mainland for proper disposal.

Collections on San Juan, Orcas and Lopez Islands will be announced in local newspapers and on our web page as they are scheduled. Please call in your questions to Helen Venada, Hazardous Waste Coordinator, 360-370-0503.

Households will be charged a minimum fee of $8.00 for up to 120 pounds of hazardous waste (the equivalent of about 15 gallons); quantities over 120 pounds will cost $.05/pound. *Since most latex paints are not designated as "hazardous," residents are encouraged to either evaporate or solidify their unusable latex paint with sawdust for regular solid waste disposal. As an alternative, the HHW project accepts latex at $2.00 per gallon at this time. Island small quantity generating businesses (SQG's) are invited to participate in annual or semi-annual disposal events at substantially lower cost than if they were to individually manage their hazardous waste. SQG's receive notice of collection dates by phone, mailed newsletter, news releases and this web page.

Residents are encouraged, through the "Haz Bin" program, to take home collected items that are suitable for re-use. We expect to divert from disposal up to one-third of collected materials that are deemed reusable through this program. For more information please contact Helen Venada (360) 370-0503 HelenV@sjcpublicworks.org