Santa Rosa County offers household hazardous waste Amnesty Day

GULF BREEZE — Santa Rosa County will host Household Hazardous Waste Amnesty Day from 8 a.m. to noon on March 10 at the Santa Rosa County South Service Center, 5819 Gulf Breeze Parkway in Gulf Breeze. This event offers residents the opportunity to dispose of HHW at no charge without having to drive to the Central Landfill in Milton.

Residents will be required to remove items from their vehicles. Remember, HHW items can cause injury if handled improperly. These items will usually have a warning or cautionary statement on their labels, such as flammable, corrosive, poison or toxic.

The following items will be accepted and should never be disposed of with household garbage:

  • up to five regular car or truck tires per vehicle, no large, heavy-duty or racing tires accepted  
  • antifreeze, gasoline, oil and oil filters 
  • paint and solvents 
  • lubricants and grease 
  • pesticides and fertilizers 
  • pool cleaners, household cleaners 
  • batteries, battery backups (UPSs) 
  • propane bottles 
  • aerosol cans 
  • flat screen monitors and flat screen TVs 
  • computers, printers, copiers, fax machines, typewriters, DVD/DVR players 
  • fluorescent light bulbs 
  • fire extinguishers 
  • approved sharps containers – bring a full sharps container for proper disposal and receive a free replacement container 

"At our Amnesty Day last October, we collected almost 45,000 pounds of waste products with just over 2,500 pounds of it returned to our 'free' shelf which is disbursed back to the public for reuse," Santa Rosa County Director of Environmental Operations Ron Hixon said.

Conditionally exempt small quantity generators such as small businesses, schools and growers may dispose of hazardous waste at a reduced rate. CESQG waste is accepted by appointment only. Call 981-7135 by 12 p.m. the day before the event to schedule a drop-off time.

Santa Rosa residents can dispose of household hazardous waste including sharps 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday at the HHW center at the entrance to the Central Landfill, 6337 Da Lisa Road in Milton. Regular, light duty, truck or car tires are accepted for $5 each all year.

Amnesty Day is made possible by Santa Rosa County in cooperation with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Okaloosa County Environmental Office. Call 981-7135 for more information.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Santa Rosa County offers household hazardous waste Amnesty Day