Westchester County’s Department of Environmental Facilities (DEF) will be conducting a Household Recycling Day (HRD) Event on Saturday, Oct. 29, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Sprain Ridge Park, 149 Jackson Avenue, Yonkers. The upcoming HRD event in Yonkers will be the fourth HRD event of 2022.
Back by popular demand, the County returns to Sprain Ridge Park for the first of two additional events added for the Fall of 2022. The County will now host six total HRD events in 2022 to provide even more County residents with access to the safe and convenient disposal of household waste.
In addition to properly labelled household chemicals, tires, scrap metal, electronics, appliances, special wastes found in a typical household, documents for shredding, and expired or unwanted medications; the County will also be accepting latex paint and textiles for recycling at the Oct.29 HRD Event.
Generally, the following items are accepted for safe disposal or recycling:
- Properly labelled household chemicals, such as:
- Household cleaning products
- Most automotive fluids (antifreeze, brake fluid, gasoline, but not motor oil)
- Flammable liquids (kerosene, butane, lighter fluid, turpentine)
- Metal, jewelry, and furniture polishes and waxes; wood preservatives
- Fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, herbicides
- Photographic and swimming pool chemicals
- Batteries – only lithium, vehicle, rechargeable, or button cell
- Textiles- footwear, clothing, linens, leather, small area rugs, and handbags
- Latex and oil-based Paint, wood stains
- Fluorescent light bulbs & CFLs
- Fire extinguishers
- BBQ propane tanks (up to 20 lbs.)
- Mercury containing devices (thermometers and thermostats)
- Electronic waste (TVs, computer monitors and towers)
- Expired or unwanted medications, both OTC and prescription
- Personal documents for shredding (limit of four (4) file-size boxes per household)
- Tires
Items that will not be accepted and should not be brought to the Household Recycling Day include, non-rechargeable alkaline and carbon zinc batteries (they can be safely discarded in the trash), motor oil, smoke detectors, cell phones, explosives (flares, fireworks, ammunition), construction debris and hypodermic needles. Also, waste from businesses, schools, or other institutions will not be accepted.
For more information on what to bring to this event, visit the Westchester County recycling website page or call (914) 813-5425.
If you are unable to attend the HRD Event, you can dispose of your hard-to-get-rid-of household waste by making a convenient appointment for the County’s Household-Material Recycling Facility (H-MRF), 15 Woods Road, Valhalla. The H-MRF is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. by appointment, and accepts the same items that are accepted at the HRD events. For more information about the H-MRF or to make an appointment, visit the County Environmental Facilities website or call (914) 813-5425.
Additionally, on Saturday, Oct. 29, the H-MRF will provide residents with the opportunity to dispose of prescription and over-the-counter medications by appointment as part of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Residents can drive-thru and drop off their medications, which should be in their original containers, if possible, or placed inside sealed plastic bags. In 2021, DEF collected and safely disposed of 6,479 pounds of prescription and over-the-counter medications through collection events at the H-MRF. Last spring, Americans turned in over 360 tons (721,093 pounds) of unused or expired prescription drugs and vape devices at over 5,000 sites operated by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (USDEA), and more than 4,400 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, since 2010, USDEA and its partners have taken in nearly 16 million pounds of pills and liquid medicine.
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