Photo by Jon Anderson.
Tim Hayes, at left, and Bruce Davis of the Foundry Rescue and Recovery Center load electronic items brought to the city of Hoover's 2018 Household Hazardous Waste Day in the parking lot at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex in Hoover.
Hoover’s Household Hazardous Waste Day is moving to a new location this year — the Hoover Public Safety Center at 2020 Valleydale Road.
Traffic was an issue at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex last year, and this year, there are soccer, basketball and baseball tournaments happening at the complex the same day as the waste collection day, so city officials decided to move the waste collection elsewhere, said Robin Mangino, the administrative services supervisor for the Hoover Public Works and Park Maintenance department.
The city also is extending the time for the event by two hours to give more time for people to drop off items. It will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 17.
Vehicles are to enter at the Hoover Public Safety Center entrance off Valleydale Road that is closest to U.S. 31. Police will stage vehicles in the parking lot while they wait to unload at the back of the building and exit out the back entrance to U.S. 31 near Christian Brothers Automotive.
Last year’s waste day was so popular that a couple of hundred vehicles waiting in line to drop stuff off at the end of the event had to be turned away, Mangino said.
Workers stayed at least an hour past the noon closing time to handle as many vehicles as they could, but they had to shut it down at some point. Plus, MXI Environmental Services, the company hired to dispose of all the materials, filled up all the containers it brought to haul the items away, Mangino said.
An estimated 1,550 vehicles dropped things off to be disposed of last year.
The Household Hazardous Waste Day gives Hoover residents a chance to properly dispose of items that shouldn’t go in the garbage or landfill.
Examples of items accepted include leftover wet paint, automotive fluids, household cleaners, pesticides, batteries, standard-size tires, electronics, medication, guns and ammunition.
The event is open only to Hoover residents, who must be prepared to show a valid driver’s license or photo ID with a Hoover address. Items will not be accepted from businesses.
Last year, Hoover residents brought enough paint and paint-related materials to fill 107 pallet-size boxes and 17 pallets, city records show.
Workers also collected 40 55-gallon drums of pesticides, eight 55-gallon drums of flammable liquids, 27 55-gallon drums of corrosive liquids and solids, four 55-gallon drums of antifreeze, 120 55-gallon drums and 28 pallet-size boxes of propane tanks, four 55-gallon drums and five 5-gallon containers of household batteries, four 55-gallon drums of oxidizers, one 55-gallon drum of asbestos, one 55-gallon drum of motor oil, nine pallet-size boxes of aerosols, 420 fire extinguishers, 570 fluorescent light bulbs, 200 gallons of used cooking oil, 235 tires and 75 car batteries, according to Mangino and city records.
Hoover police also took in 871 pounds of unwanted medications, 12 unwanted firearms and a small amount of ammunition, Capt. Keith Czeskleba said. They’ll collect unwanted medication again this year, as well as firearms, ammunition, edged weapons and military ordnance and souvenirs.
The Foundry Rescue and Recovery Center will be back again also, collecting equipment such as TV sets, computer hard drives, keyboards, monitors, computer mice, radios, stereos, telephones, power cables and wiring.
City officials also encourage people to bring old, tattered or damaged U.S. flags for proper disposal. The Shred-It truck will not be at Household Hazardous Waste Day to dispose of paper records this year because it will be at Celebrate Hoover Day the following weekend, Mangino said.
The city pays MXI Environmental Services to dispose of most of the items collected. Records indicate last year’s cost was about $76,785.
To see a complete list of items accepted and not accepted, go to links at hooveral.org/309/Household-Hazardous-Waste-Day.
Household Hazardous Waste Day
WHERE: Hoover Public Safety Center
WHEN: Saturday, April 17, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
COST: Free to Hoover residents with ID showing Hoover home address
