(Oneida, Herkimer, County, NY – April 2014) Spring brings longer days, warmer temperatures and the traditional spring cleaning. Spring is the perfect time to clean and organize your garage, basement and cabinets.
“As you start your spring cleaning, keep in mind that among the items that might be thrown out or recycled are potentially dangerous household hazardous wastes (HHW). The Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority has options available to residents in Oneida and Herkimer Counties to properly dispose of these wastes,” said Authority Recycling Coordinator Jamie Tuttle.
Household Hazardous Wastes are items such as paint, oil and gasoline, pesticides, pool chemicals, cleaning solvents and many other common household items. When discarded improperly, these products can cause problems for us and our environment. To dispose of these materials safely, Oneida and Herkimer County residents can deliver these materials at no charge to the Authority’s Household Hazardous Waste Facility beginning on April 1.
The facility is located at 80 Leland Ave. in Utica, and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. This material is accepted from April 1 – Sept. 30 each year.
The Authority would also like to remind residents of a free program for recycling bulky, rigid plastic items that cannot be accepted and recycled through curbside recycling. Residents can now bring these items to the Authority’s Utica or Rome facilities during regular business hours, free of charge. Bulky rigid plastics are hard plastic items (not film or flexible plastic) such as clean, empty plastic buckets/pails, drums, totes and garbage cans, plastic toys (i.e. playhouses), plastic lawn furniture and coolers, plastic pallets and shelving, plastic laundry baskets and plastic recycling bins & carts. Bulky rigid plastics cannot be mixed with other plastic recyclables and cannot be set-out with your regular curbside recyclables.
Pool/chemical containers, driveway sealant containers, Styrofoam and plastic appliances are not acceptable under this program. The bulky rigid plastics drop-off program allows the Authority to recover additional material that can be processed and turned into new things while conserving landfill space, energy and natural resources.
For more information regarding these programs, recycling and waste disposal, please visit www.ohswa.org or call the Authority’s Administrative Office at 733-1224. You can also visit our Facebook page—RecycleOne. One and Done—to ask questions and find more information on these topics.
Other Green Spring Cleaning Tips
*Switch from paper to cloth: Reduce your household paper waste by using cloth dish rags or pieces of old clothing to wipe counters and other surfaces. Then, the rags can be washed and reused over again.
*Line-dry your clothes: Save energy by avoiding the dryer when you can and use the sun and wind to dry your clothes.
*Make your own cleaning products: Rather than using a heavy-duty cleaner, use household items like baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice and plain soap to clean your floors and other surfaces.
*De-clutter by going paperless: Sign up for paperless billing when you can and remove your name from junk-mail lists by writing to:
DMA Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
P.O. Box 643
Carmel, NY 15012-0643
Give your address and every variation of your name under which you receive mail.
*Donate: Take items in good condition that you no longer want/need and donate them to charity, such as furniture and clothing. You can also consider holding a yard sale.
*End energy leaks: Unplug electronic devices and appliances when you are not using them. Items such as cell phone chargers, TVs and computers go into standby mode when we are not using them. Standby mode is not the same as off. During standby mode, electronics leak energy.
*Conserve energy: Replace incandescent light bulbs in your home with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). CFLs are more energy efficient—they use 2/3 less energy than incandescent light bulbs and last 8-12 times longer.
*RECYCLE: Be sure to utilize the Authority’s recycling and special programs (www.ohswa.org).