Photo by Erin Nelson.
City employees and MXI Transportation and Environmental Services employees sort and dispose items such as paint, vehicle fluids and electronics during Hoover’s Household Hazardous Waste Day at the Hoover Public Safety Center in April 2021.
It’s spring cleaning time again in Hoover, and for the second year, the city is planning its Household Hazardous Waste Day at the Hoover Public Safety Center.
The event is scheduled for Saturday, April 2, from 8 a.m. to noon.
The day is designed to give Hoover residents a chance to properly dispose of items that shouldn’t go in a landfill.
Residents should be prepared to show a valid driver’s license or photo ID with a Hoover address. Items will not be accepted from businesses, city officials said.
Examples of items accepted include leftover wet paint, automotive fluids, household cleaners, pesticides, batteries, standard-size tires, electronics, medication, guns and ammunition.
For many years, Hoover’s Household Hazardous Waste Day was in the parking lot at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, but last year, city officials moved the event to the Hoover Public Safety Center off Valleydale Road so as not to conflict with other events at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex.
Due to long lines in previous years, some of the city staff initially were concerned about traffic backing up onto Valleydale Road and planned to stack cars waiting in line in the front parking lot at the Public Safety Center. However, things went more smoothly than expected, and that was not necessary, said Robin Mangino, the administrative manager for the Public Works Department, who coordinates the day.
Still, people are advised to enter the Public Safety Center off Valleydale Road, drive to the back of the building via the road on the east side of the building to drop off their items and exit out the back entrance to U.S. 31 near Christian Brothers Automotive.
Last year, for the first time, the city had two Household Hazardous Waste Days: one on April 17 that drew 1,292 vehicles and a second on Sept. 18 that drew an estimated 550 vehicles, Mangino said.
The city had received numerous requests from residents who didn’t want to have to wait a whole year to get rid of their hazardous waste. The city again this year plans to hold two drop-off days, with the second likely coming in October, Mangino said.
Between the two days last year, Hoover residents brought enough paint and paint-related materials to fill 84 pallet-sized boxes and 30 pallets, city records show.
Workers also collected 37 55-gallon drums of pesticides, eight 55-gallon drums of flammable liquids, 42 55-gallon drums of corrosive liquids and solids, eight 55-gallon drums of antifreeze, 188 propane tanks, nine 55-gallon drums and eight 5-gallon containers of household batteries, eight 55-gallon drums of oxidizers, 1,180 gallons of motor oil, six pallet-size boxes of aerosols, 187 fire extinguishers, 2,106 fluorescent light bulbs, 1,478 compact fluorescent lamps, 150 gallons of used cooking oil, 489 tires and 205 car batteries, according to Mangino and city records.
The Hoover Police Department collected 43 boxes of prescription drugs and other medication totaling 775 pounds, as well as 25 firearms, four boxes of ammunition, some fireworks and an airbag, Officer Brian Hale said. They’ll collect unwanted medication again this year, as well as firearms, ammunition, edged weapons and military ordnance and souvenirs.
Also, The Foundry Rescue and Recovery Center will be back again to collect 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. Eighty-one flags were collected last year, Mangino said.
The city will not have a company there to shred and dispose of documents for people because that service will be offered instead at Celebrate Hoover Day on April 30 in the parking lot of Spain Park High School.
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, 2020 Valleydale Road
WHEN: Saturday, April 2, 8 a.m. to noon
COST: Free to Hoover residents with ID showing their Hoover home address
