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EPA To Close Household Hazardous Waste Pick Up in St. Tammany Parish -- June 15 deadline to call for pick-up

Release Date: 06/08/2006
Contact Information: Pat Reilly, 504-731-8627 or reilly.pat@epa.gov

(New Orleans -- June 8, 2006) In a meeting with St. Tammany Parish officials, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that St. Tammany Parish residents have until June 15 to call 1-800-401-1327 to arrange for the pick-up of household hazardous waste, white goods, and e-waste in St. Tammany Parish. EPA and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality have collected more than 1 million pounds of environmental waste from St. Tammany Parish post-Katrina.

The following are examples of some of the materials that will be eligible for pick up before the June 15 deadline:

· batteries
· paint & workshop supplies (no latex paint)
· cleaning & pool supplies
· lawn & garden products
· pesticides
· thermometers & thermostats
· automotive products
· fluorescent light bulbs
· gasoline, oil, solvents
· storm-damaged electronics
· other hazardous chemicals

The EPA will continue to accept calls for the disposal of firearms, pyrotechnics and ordnance after June 15 at the 1-800-401-1327 number.

Citizens should collect flood-damaged hazardous waste containers and place them curbside in cardboard boxes or other open containers or clear bags marked with the letters "HHW." Unless such items are clearly identified, EPA's curbside collection crews might not pick them up. Household hazardous waste materials should remain in original manufacturer's containers. Household hazardous waste should not be dumped or poured down drains. Guns, explosives or ammunition should not be mixed with HHW or other general debris.

After June 15, citizens should call their solid waste hauler for information about hazardous waste disposal or call the St. Tammany Parish Department of Environmental Services at 985-898-2535.

For more information about EPA's response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, visit epa.gov/katrina/.