NO WASTE OF TIME
City’s annual hazardous waste collection day boon for residents, environment
TROY, N.Y. >> The city’s annual hazardous waste collection day on Saturday was an example of a wellplanned and well-run event that helped residents in multiple ways along with the environment.
The official name for the July 27 event was the Household Hazardous Waste, Electronic Recycling Collection and Shredding Day. This was ninth such event for the city.
With a coupon obtained in person from city hall, residents were able to safely dispose of items like aerosols, automotive fluids, asbestos insulation, corrosive liquids, pesticides, paint, poisons, anti-freeze, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, household cleaners, and many others.
Recycling for electronic device like TVs, stereos, computers was also available as was having paper documents shredded by a state certified shredding firm. The event was held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the city’s “Alamo” site in the south end of the city at the intersection of Main Street and East Industrial Parkway. With a mid-morning sun radiating overhead in a near cloudless sky and temperatures heading up to 80 degrees one might have expected the mood of residents to have been one of self-imposed drudgery. Instead they were thrilled with smiles seemingly everywhere one looked. People were tickled to be disposing of their items in an environmentally safe manner in a process that took all of 10 minutes and didn’t require them to exit their vehicles.
“I love it. Very well organized,” said an exuberant Adala Zelman as she left the site. “I had all household stuff; paint, ammonia, furniture polish. I had it in the basement because I’ve missed this event the last two years but this year I was lucky and saw a flyer.”
For residents who could prove they lived in the city coupons were free but could only be obtained in person at the mayor’s office in city hall. When the initial flyer was released just 150 coupons were to be dispensed, but due to demand the city eventually provided 225.
Each coupon came with a specific time frame.
Two hours after the 8 a.m. starting time Adrian Catell, an account clerk for the city’s Recycling and DPW departments, was thumbing through his documents to move the four cars that had arrived at the same time into the site. One of the vehicles, a U-Haul van was driven by Sandra Hutchinson.
“I rented a van because I’m tired of overloading my car,” she said. “Today I brought in roofing shingles, some computers items, a TV and some paint.”
Another resident taking advantage of the day was Sid Fleisher, a neighborhood facilitator in the city’s South End. Driving his black, 1986, Chevy Deluxe six cylinder truck with the bed half full, Fleisher was all smiles.
“I got the coupon and I’ve got the truck so I went and collected from my neighbors,” he said. “Some of them don’t have transportation so how can they get here. I’m involved with my neighborhood.”
Fleisher was asked about
making the trip to city hall for the coupon.
“I like the idea of showing up at city hall,” he said. “It shows you’re serious.”
Fleisher said he brought several florescent lights, some scrap steel, and an old bike frame, a TV, vacuum cleaner, a couple of household appliances and some paint thinners.
The city had hired three companies to help with the hazardous waste disposal and recycling; MXI Environmental took care of the hazardous material, Evolution Recycling was accepting electronics, and Confidata was expected to arrive at the site later in the day for the shredding.
One of the busiest areas was the one manned by volunteers helping housing and development not-forprofit Troy Rehabilitation & Improvement Program (TRIP) recycle usable latex paint.
As gallon cans of latex paint were dropped off, Volunteers from YouthBuild worked side by side with Kit Haynez of the city’s Solid Waste Advisory Board (SWAB) opening them. Once opened and labeled with a swatch of the paint to the lid, they were placed on a tarp in the rear.
There, Drea Leanza of Troy Zero Waste worked under a now broiling sun mixing the like paints together into five gallon buckets.
“TRIP has been around since the ‘60s,” said Hilary Lamishaw, the organization’s director of Community Affairs. “We started by rehabbing properties and selling them. When the market got slow for sales we kept some of them. We own about 230 units in Troy and we mange 250 here and 50 more in Albany.”
Lamishaw said once the paint was mixed properly a plan would be forthcoming to see that it went to people who need it.
“Kilz,” Leanza shouted from the tarp in the rear. “Is that latex or oil-based?”
“You’ll have to read the can,” someone shouted back. “They have both.”
Standing nearby, behind several rows of plastic 50 gallon drums containing all different types of corrosives, cleaners, and polishes was Roy Croom. Croom was the project manager for MXI Environmental for the day. He was asked to name the two most popular items being tossed out.
“Corrosive liquids like ammonia, cleaning solvents, degreasers, and floor waxes, and pesticides; liquids and solids,” he said.
Looking over at Lamishaw and her volunteers feverishly trying to keep up with all the paint coming their way Croom gave them a nod of approval.
“They’re doing a good thing over there;” he said, “a very good thing.”