Madison County residents: Get ready to load up the cans of paint you do not want to keep, old laptops, liquid pesticides you may not need anymore and other items you can’t dispose of in your regular garbage pickup.
Madison County’s Household Hazardous Waste Day, a drive-through event, is scheduled on March 23 from 8 a.m. until noon at Madison Central High School, 1417 Highland Colony Parkway. Drivers must enter from Park Place and turn onto Madison Central Drive to make drop offs.
Vendors on site will be Magnolia Data Solutions, Magnolia Shredding, Northward Environmental and Southern Tire Recycling.
Items that may be dropped off include aerosols, answering machines, ant bait, antifreeze (non-regulated), auto cleaning products, batteries, battery acids, cables, camcorders, caulk and adhesives, CDs, DVDs, cell phones, compact disk players, computer equipment, computers, copiers, cords, drain cleaners, duplicators, DVD players, electric typewriters, electronic games, fax machines, fire extinguishers, flammable liquids, fluorescent bulbs, garden products, hard drives, herbicides, household cleaning products, insect spray, keyboards/mice, household electronics, ink/toner cartridges, lab equipment, lacquers, laptops, lawn care products, liquid pesticides, mainframe equipment, medica, mercury, microwave ovens, mineral spirits, modems, monitors, motor oil (non-regulated), networking equipment, pagers, paints (artist, indoor/outdoor, spray paint cans), PDS, pesticides, pet supplies, photographic chemicals/developers, prescription drugs, printed circuit boards, propane tanks, radios, remote controls, rodent supplies, scanners, spa and pool chemicals, stains, stereos, stereo components, tapes, tape players, telephones, telecom equipment, televisions, testing equipment, thinners, tires toasters, transparency makers, two-way radios, UPS-power supplies, varnishes, VCRs, water oxidizer, waxes and word processors.
Unacceptable items include air conditioners, barbecue grills, dishwashers, dryers, light bulbs, medical waste, mowers, nuclear waste, radioactive waste, refrigerators, thermostats and washers.
Eight-hundred-forty-one vehicles drove through the drop-off event last year, said Jan Schaefer, communications director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
In 2023, the Madison County event collected nearly 30,000 pounds of hazardous waste materials, 4,000 flourescent light bulbs, more than 26,000 pounds of electronic waste and 130 waste tires, she said.
Madison County, the city of Madison and the city of Ridgeland are sponsors for the event, and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality provides grant support and technical assistance.
Last year, 20 local governments organized collection events with MDEQ grant support, she said. Most events utilize one or more specialty contractors to collect and properly manage the materials to facilitate proper disposal, recycling or reuse, she said.
The events help to remove hazardous materials from the municipal solid waste stream so that these wastes are not disposed of in local municipal landfills, Schaefer said. Additionally, some materials like electronics, waste tires, fluorescent light bulbs and old paints may be recycled or otherwise reused, she said.
