It is time for spring cleaning within island homes and businesses, and it is also time for the San Juan County Hazardous Waste Round-Up collection events on San Juan and Orcas. These collections are held only once per year on San Juan, Orcas, and Lopez (the Lopez event is scheduled for the fall) and are an opportunity to get rid of unwanted hazardous materials.

On Orcas Island the collection for households and businesses is at the Solid Waste Transfer Station on Saturday, April 25, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Businesses must pre-register by calling 370-0503.

Here are some tips to get the most out of this opportunity.

• Inventory all indoor and outdoor storage areas at your home or business; wear chemical-resistant gloves and old clothes;

• Ventilate the area very well to reduce exposure to chemical dust or fumes; wear a particle (dust) mask, especially if containers are open, and do not smoke within 50 feet of chemicals (the tip of a lit cigarette is 600° hot and could ignite flammable vapors!);

• Store usable products safely for future use (e.g. flammables away from the rest; keep all hazardous products out of the reach of children or pets); assure that usable products left on shelves will not fall off in the event of an earthquake;

• Recycle motor oil, antifreeze, and vehicle batteries at your recycling center before the collection event;

• Give away reusables you don’t want;

• Open unusable latex paints to dry out or mix with sawdust or kitty litter to solidify for regular trash disposal;

• Do not mix any chemical wastes together; keep products in original labeled containers;

• Consolidate paints to save space and staff handling time (i.e. add contents of partially-full cans together to create full ones);

• Re-label unknowns, as much as possible; never sniff or touch chemicals to identify unknowns;

• Store “leakers” inside larger, secure containers;

• Package unwanted poisons, flammables (including oil-based paint and stain wastes), corrosives (acids and bases), and other hazardous waste, placing like materials in plastic-lined containers for transport;

• Wash exposed skin and fingernails, using lots of water and soap; remove exposed clothing for laundering.

Remember to not mix any flammable, toxic, corrosive, or reactive wastes in with your regular garbage. This can put facility attendants at risk and is restricted by the current landfill contract.

Brian Rader is the San Juan County Pollution Prevention Specialist and and Helen Venada is the San Juan County Waste Reduction and Hazardous Waste Coordinator.