Summit County residents and property owners are invited to a free household waste dropoff event this Saturday, May 20th, from 8am to 2pm at the Bus Barn in Frisco.
SUMMIT COUNTY – Summit County will hold its free annual recycling event Saturday, May 20. Accepted special-waste items include electronics, household hazardous waste, textiles and pharmaceuticals.
“Our annual recycling event is a great opportunity to ensure that all those paints, clothes, old electronics and medications don't end up harming our environment,” said Summit County Commissioner Elisabeth Lawrence.
The May 20 recycling event, free to all Summit County residents and property owners, is funded through the Summit County Safety First Fund, approved by local voters in November 2014. Collection will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Summit Stage Bus Barn, 0222 County Shops Rd., Frisco, next to the County Commons.
The collection event is for household items only. Businesses may bring electronics and hazardous waste directly to the SCRAP during regular business hours. Neither household nor commercial appliances are accepted at the event, but they are accepted at the SCRAP.
Accepted household hazardous waste items include paints, stains, pesticides, fertilizers, cleansers, solvents, adhesives and mercury thermometers and switches. Materials must be in their original containers and/or clearly labeled. Household hazardous waste items not accepted at this event, but accepted onsite at the SCRAP, include antifreeze, fluorescent bulbs, gasoline, kerosene, batteries and motor oil. Explosives, ammunition, infectious waste, propane tanks, and radioactive materials are not accepted at the event or SCRAP.
Electronic items accepted include computers, monitors, printers, phones, audio equipment, TVs, tablets, game consoles and electronics accessories. Colorado law prohibits disposal of electronic devices in landfills. When these products do end up in the landfill, they can leach toxic pollutants.
Accepted pharmaceutical items include prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, medication samples, vitamins, prescribed narcotics, medicated lotions and ointments, liquid medications in original leak-proof containers, unopened transdermal skin patches, needles and lancets, pet medications and unused injection cartridges (e.g., insulin pens). Items not accepted include illicit drugs, inhalers, thermometers, infectious waste, chemotherapy waste, personal care products, sunscreen, marijuana, business waste, empty containers, and aerosol cans.
The Summit County Sheriff’s Office will arrange for safe, anonymous destruction of all pharmaceuticals collected at the event. In previous years, over 250 pounds of pharmaceuticals were collected.
Accepted textiles include worn-out clothes, shoes, accessories, towels, bedding, drapes and linens, all of which will be collected by USAgain, which resells all items collected to wholesale buyers, thrift store chains and textile recyclers. Carpets and pillows are not accepted. Residents are encouraged to bring items in good condition to local thrift stores, rather than to the recycling event.
For Summit residents and property owners who can’t make it to the event, the SCRAP also accepts household hazardous waste and electronics for free drop-off onsite during regular business hours, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, Saturday 7am to noon, year-round. Proof of residency or property ownership is required.
Household medications may also be disposed of year-round in secure drop-off bins at the Summit County Justice Center in Breckenridge, Prescription Alternatives pharmacy in Frisco, St. Anthony Summit Medical Center in Frisco and Dillon Police Department. Free needle collection boxes are available alongside the medication boxes at Summit Medical Center and the Summit County Justice Center. For more info on medication drop-off bins, visit www.SummitCountyCO.gov/takemedsback.
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Contact: David Rossi, Summit County Government, dave.rossi@summitcountyco.gov