THE annual Household Hazardous Chemical Collection event on Tuesday saw nearly 200 people drop off various items for appropriate disposal.
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Bathurst Regional Council’s solid waste coordinator Antony Cullen-Ward said people took the opportunity to dispose of a wide variety of items from their homes, including paint, pesticides, general low-toxic chemicals, oil, aerosol cans and gas bottles.
“We’ve also had some other things such as arsenic and lead-based products,” he said.
By late afternoon, the Cooke Hockey Complex was filled with crates of the hazardous items, which would later be taken to Newcastle for disposal.
Cleanaway chemist Craig Handyside said some items could be recycled into new products or made into alternative fuels, while others, including pesticides, would need to be incinerated or destroyed.
“It all gets taken to Newcastle and segregated and what we can’t do on site we send out [to specialist centres],” he said.
People who missed out on Tuesday’s collection can still dispose of their household problem waste by visiting the Bathurst Waste Management Centre.
The centre accepts gas bottles, fire extinguishers, paint, fluoro globes and tubes, car and household batteries, motor and other oils and smoke detectors.
For more information, contact council on 6333 6111 or visit www.epa.nsw.gov.au/recyclingcentres.