Hazardous Waste & Toxic Use Reduction

The continued growth of towns across Massachusetts in past decades has exacerbated problems with the disposition of waste. The average home generates more than 25 lbs of hazardous material every year, with much of the waste ending up in landfills or contaminating surface waters. Two key programs address these problems. Our Toxics Use Reduction Program, in conjunction with the Minuteman Hazardous Products Facility, helps residents reduce the amount of toxic material generated in their homes. Products and waste materials ranging from cleaners and automotive fluids to pesticides and photography chemicals, however, can be disposed of at the Minuteman facility on 8 different weekends every year.

Special Electronic Waste Collection scheduled for Saturday April 26, 2008, 9am - 3pm

Index

Minuteman Hazardous Products Facility

Residents of Lexington and participating communities may help protect the environment by taking common household hazardous products--ranging from cleaners and photography chemicals to paints, fuels and certain devices-- to the Minuteman Facility on Hartwell Avenue in Lexington. The Minuteman Hazardous Products Facility is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 8 weekend days, April through November. Click here for the facility schedule. Mailings with the complete schedule for the Minuteman Facility are sent to all Lexington residents annually.  If you cannot go to any of the Minuteman collections or are moving before the next one, Clean Harbors Environmental, Inc. holds HHW and electronic collections every Saturday from April 1 - October 31 at their Braintree facility.

If you're moving, or just cleaning your home, dispose of hazardous household products at the Minuteman Hazardous Products Facility. Please bring identification and proof of residency with you to the center. The facility is open only to residential customers. A separate program for small businesses and very small quantity generators (VSQG's) is also available.

Latex Paint is not accepted at the facility.  Dried out latex paint can be disposed of with your regular trash curbside.  In the past, it has been very expensive to dispose of through the facility, accounting for almost 25% of disposal costs.  Click here to find out how to dispose of your latex paint.

What Hazardous Products Can I Bring?

Do Not Bring

Transportation Tips

The Minuteman Hazardous Products Facility reserves the right to refuse unidentified materials or unacceptable amounts of hazardous waste.

Who Can Use the Facility/Cost

Anyone can bring household hazardous products to the Minuteman Facility.  Residents from Andover, Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Chelmsford, Lexington, Lincoln, Waltham and Watertown are not charged a fee.  However, many towns require pre-registration with their Board of Health or DPW.  Look below to see if you need to pre-register or for your community's contact information.  Concord residents who subscribe to the Town's curbside trash pickup are not charged a fee for using the MHP site, but must pre-register with the Concord DPW.  Concord residents who do not subscribe to the Town's curbside collection will be assessed a fee at the site.  

Residents of other communities will be charged a fee at the facility.  The fee is $35 for up to 12 gallons of materials.  This is the dry or liquid volume equivalent of 12 gallons.  The fee for 12 - 25 gallons of materials is $60.  Residents bringing more than 25 gallons of materials will be charged a fee on top of the $60 based on the amount of material. 

Please do not make multiple trips per event.  This slows down the event and it increases the cost to your town, as each town is assessed a fee based on the quantity of material per car brought to the site.

Andover

Andover residents may bring hazardous household products to the Minuteman Facility, but must pre-register beforehand with the Department of Public Works.  Andover residents who do not pre-register, must pay a fee at the facility.

Arlington

Arlington residents may bring household hazardous products to the Minuteman Facility in Lexington without pre-registering. Proof of residency in Arlington is required. For more information:

Bedford

Bedford residents may bring hazardous household products to the Minuteman Facility, but must pre-register with the Board of Health beforehand.  Bedford residents who do not pre-register, must pay a fee at the facility.

Belmont

Belmont residents may bring hazardous household products to the Minuteman Facility, but must pre-register with the Board of Health beforehand.  Belmont residents who do not pre-register, must pay a fee at the facility.

Chelmsford

Chelmsford residents may bring hazardous household products to the Minuteman Facility, but must pre-register with the Recycling Department beforehand.  Chelmsford residents who do not pre-register, must pay a fee at the facility.

Concord

Concord residents who subscribe to the Town's curbside collection service can get a pre-registration form at the Concord Public Works building during normal business hours.  Non-subscribers must pay themselves at the MHHP facility.  Concord residents should bring all paint related products to Concord's Paint Shed which is open every Saturday April through October.  Click here for information on other hazardous materials that Concord residents can conveniently dispose of in Concord.

Lincoln

Lincoln residents may bring hazardous household products to the Minuteman Facility, but must pre-register with the Board of Health beforehand.  Lincoln residents who do not pre-register, must pay a fee at the facility.

Lexington

Lexington residents may bring hazardous household products to the Minuteman Facility. Proof of residency is required at the time of collection.

Waltham

Waltham residents may bring hazardous household product to the Minuteman Facility without pre-registering.  Proof of residency is required at time of collection.

Watertown

Watertown residents may bring hazardous household products to the Minuteman Facility, but must pre-register with the Board of Health beforehand.  Watertown residents who do not pre-register, must pay a fee at the facility.

Toxics Use Reduction Program

Households generate a great deal of toxic waste every year in the form of common cleaners, paint products, automotive materials, mercury containing devices such as fluorescent lights and thermostats, and numerous other items. In fact, the average home generates more than 25 lbs of toxic material every year. To help residents reduce the amount of hazardous materials and waste in the home, the Health Division promotes toxics use reduction. A brochure on toxic use reduction is available at the Health Department, or a copy can be downloaded from the Health Department's Publications Directory.

Mercury-Containing Products Collections

What to do with a broken fluorescent light bulb

Many products used in the home, office, and schools contain mercury—thermometers, blood pressure cuffs, barometers, fluorescent light bulbs, energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, electrical switches, and thermostats to name a few.  Once deposited in the waste stream, the mercury in these products can enter the environment. Once in the air or deposited in lakes, ponds and streams, mercury enters the food chain where it “biomagnifies”, eventually entering the food you eat. A potent neurotoxin, mercury poses a major health threat to humans and especially to young children and the developing fetus.

Mercury is of particular concern to towns like Lexington where much of the trash generated is burned in an incinerator. Mercury that enters the waste stream eventually passes through the incineration process only to be deposited through the air to local ponds and streams. Fish and other wildlife eventually consume mercury containing material and pass it onto humans. For this reason, may bodies of water are off-limits for fishing in Massachusetts and other New England states, and pregnant women are advised to limit their intake of certain types of fish.

The Lexington Health Department urges Lexington residents and businesses to keep mercury-containing products out of the environment through two options:

Minuteman Facility Collections

Residents may bring mercury-containing products to the Minuteman Facility on scheduled weekend days from April to November.  Small businesses may also bring such products to the facility for a fee. For more information, see Hazardous Waste Collections for Small Businesses.

Lexington Health Department

The Health Department will accept mercury-containing products on a limited basis. Acceptable products include thermostats, switches, thermometers, blood pressure cuffs and barometers. Fluorescent bulbs, however, will not be accepted. 

Hazardous Waste Collections for Small Businesses-Avoid Expensive Pickup Costs at the Minuteman Facility!

Does your company need to dispose of small quantities of hazardous waste? Or are you classified as a "Very Small Quantity Generator" or VSQG by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection? If so, you may be interested in using a new service at the Minuteman Hazardous Products Facility for disposing of many common types of waste responsibly.

Many businesses generate small volumes of certain types of hazardous waste. But, many business operators find it difficult to dispose of toxics in a legal, cost-effective-- and responsible--way. Now the Minuteman Facility offers a low-cost way for businesses that generate low volumes of toxics to dispose of dangerous materials.

Small Businesses and Hazardous Wastes

If your business generates less than 100 kilograms (220 lbs or 25-27 gallons) of toxic waste or materials each month, it may qualify as a VSQG. Other small businesses may also wish to find a means of disposing of toxics responsibly, to protect the company, and the community in which they operate. The following types of businesses frequently generate regulated hazardous materials:

But any business that uses and generates low volumes of toxic materials may wish to find out about the commercial collection program.

How Small Business/ VSQG Collections Work

For a small fee, PSC, working in collaboration with the Minuteman Facility, will collect and dispose of your hazardous materials, including paint, fluorescent bulbs, solvents, pesticides, and cleaning materials. Call PSC to receive a quote for the collection service. Then transport the material to the Minuteman Facility in Lexington at the appointed time. Note: Businesses that must register as a VSQG must meet certain transportation requirements before bringing materials to the facility.

Qualifications for VSQG's

In addition to generating less than 100 kilograms of hazardous waste per month*, you must do the following to qualify as a VSQG and be eligible to dispose of hazardous waste at the Minuteman Facility:

VSQGs must also meet the following special self-transport requirements to bring waste to the Minuteman Facility:

* Volume limits are lower for acutely hazardous wastes. Call (617) 292-5898 for DEP hazardous waste compliance assistance.

** Additional Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements may apply for certain wastes. Call DOT at (617) 494-2770 for more information.

Registration and Payment

In order to dispose of hazardous waste at the Minuteman Facility, you must talk to PSC Environmental Services first. Please contact:

Kevin Fitzgerald

PSC

Phone: 800-541-8673 or 401-781-6340

fax: 401-781-9710

PSC will provide registrants with:

Quoted amount must be paid in full by check at the appointed time of delivery to the Facility, or waste will not be accepted!

Low disposal prices are equivalent to those paid for residential hazardous waste disposal!