County, City to host hazardous waste collection event

The City of Durango and La Plata County will again host a free household hazardous waste collections event on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 18 and 19, at the La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave. in Durango. The event takes place every two years, so residents are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity.

The schedule for drop-offs:

• Commercial and bulk accounts
  1. Friday, Oct. 18, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Waste will be accepted from commercial businesses, organizations or individuals with larger, bulk, amounts. Please sign up for a timeslot using this form to ensure staff is available to process materials. Commercial quantities of waste will not be accepted on Saturday.
• Residential and small amounts
  1. Friday, Oct. 18, noon to 2 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 19, 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Personal and residential waste can be dropped off without an appointment. The types of items accepted include home cleaning supplies, fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, automotive fluids, batteries, solvents, paints, flammable fluids and fuels, and standard 5-lb propane tanks and fire extinguishers. Items that cannot be accepted include ammunition and other explosives, biowaste, medical waste, radioactive waste, large electronic items such as televisions or CRTs, or refrigerators and other items containing refrigerants.

The Household Hazardous Waste event provides residents of the city, county and the region one of the best opportunities to safely and responsibly dispose of toxic, corrosive, and flammable materials. Residents and businesses that are only looking for small quantities of paint, batteries, or electronics are encouraged to utilize the year-round options available to recycle these items.

For more information on the Household Hazardous Waste event, including items that are, and are not, accepted, please visit our Public Works page.