Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day For Portsmouth, New Castle, And Newington Set For Oct. 24

PORTSMOUTH, NH — Portsmouth, New Castle and Newington residents will be able to drop off household hazardous waste during a city collection day set for Oct. 24.

The city of Portsmouth Department of Public Works will hold its semiannual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day from 8 a.m. to 12 noon at the Public Works facility, 680 Peverly Hill Road. Residents of the three communities are encouraged to bring household chemicals for safe disposal.

The event will be run as a drive-through service.

According to the city, residents will remain in their vehicles and pull through the Public Works garage, where staff will remove disposable items from car trunks. Residents will also be asked to show proof of residency for survey purposes, in compliance with EPA requirements.

The city said household hazardous waste collection is intended to help safely dispose of items that can harm residents' health, the environment, and drinking water supplies. Materials accepted at the event include yard products such as fertilizer with pesticides or fungicides, insect spray, lighter fluid, pest strips or traps, pesticides, poisons and pool chemicals.

The collection will also accept certain garage items, including acids, car waxes and polish, creosote, driveway sealer or tar, flea powder, gasoline, radiator fluid and roofing tar. Household items on the list include bathroom cleaner, disinfectants, furniture polish, metal polish, mothballs, oven cleaner, photo chemicals, rug cleaner and wood strippers. From the workbench, accepted materials include brush cleaner, corrosives, lead- and oil-based paint, stain or finish, rust preventive solvents, thinner or turpentine, and wood preservatives.

Some items will not be accepted.

Those items include empty household product containers, which may go into regular trash collection, as well as explosives, asbestos, medical waste, and latex paint.

The city also included instructions for getting rid of latex paint through regular disposal at the Recycling Center. Residents should solidify the paint by adding kitty litter, sawdust, or SpeediDri, or leave the can open long enough for the liquid to dry out completely before disposal.

More information about Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day is available at portsnh.co/hazwaste.