Environment

Rid Your Home of Toxic Waste: Darien Household Hazardous Waste Day Comes on June 5

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The Darien Department of Public Works is organizing the town’s annual Household Hazardous Waste Day to be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, June 5 at the Noroton Heights Train Station. — This article is based on an announcement from the Darien Department of Public Works

The event gives you an opportunity to get rid of toxic, sometimes poisonous household items you don’t want that could be a hazard to you and your family members, especially children. And it lets you do it in a safe way that doesn’t hurt the environment, making it a better alternative to putting it in the trash, which would go to an incinerator that puts it into the air; flushing it down the toilet, which sends it to Long Island Sound; or pouring into the soil on your property. If you’re going to the drop-off site on the train station’s south parking lot (nearest the tracks leading away from New York City), you need to use the entrance at Hollow Tree Ridge Road. After driving through and dropping off your items, you leave the station using Ledge Road, near Post 53.

Darien Reycycling Center

With Paint Now Recycled at Dump, Household Hazardous Waste Day Volume, Cost Way Down

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Last Saturday’s Household Hazardous Waste Day dropoff event at the Noroton Heights Railroad Station parking lot had much lower participation and volume than in previous years — but apparently that’s because paint is now collected regularly at the town transfer station/recycling center. This year, Darien will only pay $3,832.50 to a contractor that accepts the waste collected on Household Hazardous Waste Day. That compares with $19,750 last year, according to a memorandum from Assistant Darien Public Works Director Darren Oustafine. A total of 269 households (142 of them from Darien, or 48.2 percent) participated in the Household Hazardous Waste Day dropoff. Last year there were 1,001 households participating, and 74.5 percent were from Darien.

Darien Reycycling Center
Household Hazardous Picture

Darien Household Hazardous Waste Day Is Saturday — Here’s What to Take

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Your mercury thermometer is among the things to save for Darien’s Household Hazardous Waste Day, which takes place this Saturday, June 4. You can trade in your mercury thermometer for a brand new digital thermometer that day (while supplies last), according to the announcement posted by the Department of Public Works. Here’s a sampling of what else you should be saving for the pickup, which takes place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the south parking lot of Noroton Heights Railroad Station (normally pretty empty on a weekend anyway):

Toilet bowl and drain cleaners, oven cleaners, rug and upholstery cleaners, furniture, floor and metal polishes, paint strippers, lighter fluid, poisons, insecticides, rubber cement, airplane glue. These are some of the items you can take to the Darien Transfer Station/Darien Recycling Center whenever it’s open — they’ve been collecting more and more things that can be recycled and will not be accepting these at the household hazardous waste drop-off:

Tires, dry cell (flashlight) batteries, motor oil, unbroken fluorescent lights, electronics and rechargable batteries. Paint is another item not being collected this year — it’s another product that can be dropped off at the Darien Transfer Station/Darien Recycling Center.

Government & Politics
Seattle Household Hazardous Waste Collection Site

Area Household Hazardous Waste Days for Darien Residents

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If you can’t wait for Darien’s scheduled household hazardous waste pickup event on June 4 or need to go before or afterward, here’s a list of surrounding communities that will accept hazardous waste from Darien residents. The Darien Department of Public Works just published the list of Household Hazardous Waste Days for communities from Greenwich to Weston, Wilton and Westport, all of which have co-operative agreements with Darien to accept our residents’ hazardous waste. Here’s more information on Darien’s own pickup event. Here’s the schedule of nearby pickups:

Government & Politics
Seattle Household Hazardous Waste Collection Site

Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day on Saturday, Sept 12, 8 AM to 2 PM

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Darien residents (not businesses) can drop off household hazardous waste this Saturday, Sept. 12 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Norwalk High School (here’s a map). The collection day is one of several scheduled for the rest of this year and open to residents of Darien, Norwalk, New Canaan, Greenwich, Stamford, Westport, Weston and Wilton. The images in this photo gallery (from the Norwalk and Darien local government websites) have information on what can be dropped off, or see the announcement on the Norwalk city government website (reprinted at bottom):

From the Norwalk city government website:

Household hazardous waste includes items from the following common household areas and will be accepted during specified hazardous waste collection days. Garage: Gasoline, auto care products, oil-based paints or alkyd paints, stains, thinners, spray paints, etc.

Public Safety
Household Hazardous Waste Darien Depot

People from at Least 6 Vehicles Left Hazardous Waste at Darien Depot: More Details

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On a day (June 6) when household hazardous waste was being collected across the tracks in a Noroton Heights train station parking lot, some people left their waste on a picnic table at the nearby Darien Depot youth center. Paint cans, fertilizer and turpentine were left on a picnic table, Darien police said.  The town Department of Public Works has now released more information about the incident. Here’s the passage in the latest quarterly report (April to June) of the Darien Department of Public Works:

Household Hazardous Waste Day. Every year on the 1st Saturday in the month of June the Town conducts a household hazardous waste day.