A Riverton man recently blew off several fingers while handling hazardous chemicals in his home.
While that was an extreme case, Salt Lake County is urging everyone to go through their homes and properly dispose of household hazardous waste.
News Specialist Jed Boal has the story.
Does this look like a corner in your garage or basement?
When you eventually DO get rid of all the paint, oil and pesticides, where do you dump them?
The Salt Lake Valley Health Department urges everyone to use the Household Hazardous Waste Program.
Patti Pavey/Exec. Dir., SLVHD: WHEN PEOPLE DISPOSE OF HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE IMPROPERLY, WHEN THEY PUT IT IN STORM DRAINS, DOWN THE SINK, ALL OF THOSE CONTAMINANTS CAN MAKE THEIR WAY TO OUR DRINKING WATER.
Nancy Workman/Salt Lake County Mayor: WE JUST NEED TO BE MORE AWARE OF WHAT'S FLAMMABLE, WHAT'S DANGEROUS, WHAT WE CAN BRING OUT HERE.
The county landfill started to take household hazardous waste free of charge ten years ago.
Each month, county residents and small businesses take 70-thousand pounds of paint, fuels and other chemicals to the facility.
Paint that cannot be reused is recycled in this can crusher.
The county uses the paint to cover graffitti.
A humanitarian group sends the rest to Mexico.
Flourescent bulbs, including the new compacts, also do not belong in the garbage because they contain mercury.
Jed Boal/Eyewitness News: WETHER THE HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ARE STILL IN YOUR BASEMENT OR ON THEIR WAY TO BE RECYCLED, MAKE SURE YOU KEEP THEM IN THE CONTAINERS THEY CAME IN. HERE'S SOME OIL THAT CAME TO THE RECYCLING PROGRAM IN A COTTAGE CHEESE CONTAINER AND PAINT THINNER THAT CAME IN A JAR.
Doug Sims/Program Manager: UNKNOWN CHEMICALS THAT COME OUT HERE PRESENT US WITH DANGERS, BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE HANDLING. IT ALSO TAKE TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IT IS.
This woman cleaned out paint left over from years of projects.
MaryJo Westenhaver: I WORRIED ABOUT FIRE HAZARD FOR ONE THING, AND I KNOW THAT CHEMICALS BECOME UNSTABLE OVER TIME.
Unfortunately, this is the only full-time household hazardous waste disposal program in Utah.
If you live outside Salt Lake County, contact your local government.
The recycling program saves the county $200,000 a year in disposal costs.
