Photo courtesy of Mesa County Household Hazardous Waste Collections

Have you ever wondered how to responsibly dispose of dead batteries, burned out, mercury-containing florescent bulbs or those empty fuel canisters from a camping trip? And, what about leftover cans of paint or motor oil?

Those items, plus televisions, computer monitors, printers, DVD players and other electronics, contain materials hazardous to humans and the environment and, thus, are not allowed in landfills.

Out of 64 Colorado counties, only eight offer permanent household hazardous waste collection services, and four are located on the Western Slope! While many county solid waste sites host special collection days once every year or two, permanent collection facilities in Mesa, Eagle, Pitkin and Summit counties accept household hazardous waste year-round — meaning you don’t have to store it on your property while waiting for a special collection day.

MESA COUNTY

Mesa County’s Household Hazardous Waste Collections Facility, located at 3071 U.S. Hwy 50 in Grand Junction, is a “one-stop-shop” where you can drop off household hazardous materials, as well as mattresses and yard waste. It’s all either recycled or disposed of properly. Organic materials like tree trimmings, grass clippings, brush, leaves, etc. are turned into compost and mulch, which people can then purchase, if they wish.

Mesa County residents can drop off products like latex paints, stains, pesticides, fertilizers, auto products and cleaning supplies at the county site for free (businesses pay a fee).

Items that are unopened or in good condition are set out in the facility’s reuse room for residents to take for free. Typical products include partial cans of latex paint, motor oil, household cleaning products, fuel canisters, adhesives and lighter fluid. You’ll also sometimes find swimming pool and hot tub chemicals; “Those go really fast,” says hazardous materials manager Daryl Hillyer.

Poor quality oil is disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner, while cleaner oil is filtered and can be used for heating. In fact, Mesa County uses donated oil to heat three of its buildings!

If paints are in good shape — Hillyer says he can tell by shaking the can — they’ll put those in the reuse room, which people often take to use for painting sheds, shelves, garages or for artwork. Some people will mix paints together to create different colors, he says.

“There are some good whites we hold back and mix together in a 5-gallon bucket to create a nice white or tan latex paint,” Hillyer shares. Those are sold for $25 because of the labor involved. “People save over $100 to $125 what they’d pay for new,” he says. “Right now, I have five buckets on the shelf. I bought one and painted two rooms and still have half a bucket left over. It’s really thick, good paint.”

There is a fee for dropping off electronic products. Mesa County charges 65 cents per pound to cover costs of sending items to a Front Range recycler. CORRecycling, a private Grand Junction company, charges less but collects only electronics; it does not collect other household hazardous waste.

Visit mesacounty.us/swm/hours-of-operation/ for more information and hours of operation.

EAGLE COUNTY

In Eagle County, residents pay just 20 cents per pound to drop off their electronics — unless you’re 65 or older, then it’s free.

Other household hazardous waste can be dropped off for free (again, commercial companies pay a fee). And, like Mesa County, Eagle County collects sharps (needles, syringes, scalpels), which are sent to a company that sterilizes the objects, which can then be landfilled.

Unlike, Mesa County, Eagle does not accept medications, though meds can be disposed of locally at pharmacies and county sheriff drop boxes, says Joseph Walls, operations manager for Eagle County Solid Waste and Recycling.

Eagle County also has a small reuse item area. Residents stop by daily to pick up free auto products, latex paint and oil-based stains — a lot of it new, says Walls.

The county does not recycle mattresses; although, it accepts them for disposal in its landfill.

Visit eaglecounty.us/solidwasteandrecycling/landfill for hours and more information.

PITKIN COUNTY’S MOTHERLODE MERCANTILE

At the Pitkin County Landfill in Aspen, people may bring their household hazardous waste year-round for free. Disposal of electronic items ranges from $10 to $45, depending on the size. Aspen also recycles mattresses.

Though Pitkin County does not set out for reuse collected chemical products like paints, pesticides, oils or anti-freeze, it does have a reuse area full of other, perhaps more interesting, objects.

The Motherlode Mercantile opened in June at the Pitkin landfill, where you’ll find quite reasonably-priced items that have either been donated or were destined for the landfill. The Motherlode Mercantile contains patio furniture, artwork, frames, dishware, construction materials, sports equipment and other high-quality objects. While the items are not free, “It’s all sold for a very reasonable price — $5-$10,” says Pitkin County solid waste director Cathy Hall. And, you don’t have to be a Pitkin County resident to shop there.

“Specialty” items in the Mercantile are priced higher. For example, a donated 1990s large, lighted globe set on a nice wooden stand, if new, would have gone for $14,000, says Hall. The Mercantile priced the secondhand globe at $200, and it sold that same day. An antique Chinese one-seater horse cart is another “specialty” item currently for sale at the shop.

Pitkin County also collects organic waste, including food waste and biosolids, which is then used to make compost that is sold to the public.

Visit landfillrules.com for hours and a full list of accepted items.

SUMMIT COUNTY (SCRAP)

Summit County Resource Allocation Park (SCRAP), located at 639 Landfill Road in Dillon, accepts household hazardous waste, such as paints, thinners, aerosols, old gasoline and pesticides, for free from Summit County residents and recycles those items with companies on the Front Range. It tries to steer commercial-sized volumes directly to the Denver-area companies with whom it recycles materials. SCRAP does not have a reuse area.

SCRAP recycles electronics for a fee, depending on the item and its size. Summit County also takes organic matter, which is turned into compost and sold. Organic materials are collected for a fee — $31 per ton or $10 minimum. SCRAP also recycles mattresses.

In addition to collecting materials year-round, Summit County hosts an annual “hard to recycle” event for its residents every spring in Frisco, which is considered a central Summit County location.

For more information visit: summitcountyco.gov/103/Landfill.

Originally published in the Winter 2022-23 issue of Spoke+Blossom.

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