JACKSON, Wyo. — According to a press release Teton County Integrated Solid Waste & Recycling (TCISWR), Teton County residents safely disposed of approximately 4,746 gallons of household hazardous waste during the 2024 summer collection season.
Hazardous waste includes dangerous, poisonous, flammable and corrosive substances like antifreeze, oil-based paint, turpentines, used motor oils and pesticides. Safely disposing of this waste keeps it out of the landfill and out of soil, groundwater, rivers and creeks.
This year’s collection equates to about 19 tons and is an 18.7% increase from the 2023 Household Hazardous Waste season, TCISWR writes, when residents dropped off 3,997 gallons (approximately 16 tons) of hazardous waste.
Taking advantage of this service in the spring, summer and early fall allows residents a solution to prevent illegal pouring of hazardous substances down drains, dumping them into the environment or putting them in the garbage, which TCISWR says can threaten fish and wildlife. Sanitation workers can also be injured by acids, fires and explosions.
TCISWR operates its hazardous waste collection facility, located behind the Recycling Center, two times a month between early April and mid-October, and is able to accept hazardous household substances through a special permit obtained from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. To stay within the permit parameters, the facility is limited in the quantities of hazardous waste that can be collected and in the number of collection days each year; the program closes in the fall when materials and collection systems also begin to freeze.
What should Teton County households do if they need to dispose of hazardous materials in the winter?
Once the facility closes in the fall, here are a few tips on disposing and storing household hazardous waste safely during the winter:
- Fluorescent lightbulbs, camping propane cannisters, bear spray and batteries (rechargeable, alkaline, small lithium and lead-acid automotive batteries) are accepted year-round. They can be taken to the Recycling Center office Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Larger lithium and lithium-ion batteries, like e-bike batteries and golf cart batteries, cannot be accepted.
- E-bike batteries may be recycled through an e-bike retailer.
- TCISWR requests not disposing of lithium batteries in trash or community recycling bins, as they are one of the leading causes of garbage and recycling truck fires, including two fires in Teton County.
- Latex and water-based paints can be disposed year-round by drying them with the addition of kitty litter and then safely placing them in the trash.
- Oil-based paints, poisons, flammable solvents, thinners, bleaches, herbicides, fertilizers and other hazardous materials are prohibited from Teton County’s Trash Transfer Station or from being transported and dumped in the Bonneville County, Idaho, landfill that Teton County uses.
- TCISWR confirms these materials are prohibited from the landfill due to their potential impact on the landscape and human safety if not treated properly. They also are prohibited from being poured down the drain because the chemicals are likely to pass through sewage treatment systems and enter the ground water, streams and rivers.
- TCISWR recommends storing these materials safely in a corner of a shed or garage until they can be brought to the county Household Hazardous Waste facility in the spring. Appointments will be available through Teton County’s website beginning in March for collection days in April 2025 through October 2025.
- Used motor oil that is not contaminated by water, antifreeze or dirt can be offered to local businesses that use oil for heating, such as Westwood Curtis Construction, located near the Recycling Center.
If residents have questions about hazardous materials, recycling or other waste disposal, they can call TCISWR’s resident expert Nancy Frost at 733-7678 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
