Agencies like SWALCO (Solid Waste Agency of Lake County, IL) provide residents alternatives, education, and resources for disposing of solid wastes that don’t belong in the water supply or landfills. They embed the reduce/reuse/recycle philosophy in their operations.

I did some Spring-cleaning…o.k. I procrastinated a bit and it was more like Summer-cleaning. I sorted out materials that could be recycled through the normal weekly collections, created a donate pile, made a pile of stuff that could be placed in the trash, and set aside a box of household chemicals, etc. that could be disposed of via SWALCO. I was amazed at how small the trash pile was when I compared it to the others.

It is important to mention that SWALCO even accepted some old prescriptions I had laying around when I threw my back out sneezing (long story). It is better for the environment and public safety to turn over medications (prescription or otherwise) to SWALCO (or other local agencies specializing in similar collections) versus flushing them down the toilet or placing them in the trash.

69 million: Number of gallons of latex paint sent to U.S. landfills each year.

I also had some latex paint collecting dust under my shelf. If SWALCO does not take an item, chances are that they provide a link to one that does. Agencies like SWALCO operate in every state. A quick internet search for “household hazardous waste recycling” or “solid waste agency” followed by your state/county should provide a list of resources. I also made sure I visited their web site to check operating hours and materials accepted by SWALCO before I made the trip.