The Southwestern PA Household Hazardous Waste Task Force collected 115,063 pounds of material for safe disposal from 1,322 participants at their April 28 event.

By comparison, the 2006 Allegheny County collection attracted 1,041 participants, who dropped off 90,748 pounds of household hazardous waste.

Even though it rained most of the day, more than sixty dedicated volunteers gave up their Saturday to staff the collection.

Since May 2003, the Task Force has sponsored 20 highly successful household hazardous waste events in eight western Pennsylvania counties. In 2006, the Task Force met and surpassed two important milestones, namely the 10,000th household served, and the 1 millionth pound of household hazardous waste collected.

This year the Task Force was the recipient of the 2007 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.

For more information, visit the Task Force website.

5/4/2007