Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources Team Up for July 20 Event at Gwinnett County Fairgrounds

Lawrenceville, Ga. – July 10, 2019 – In 2018, Gwinnett County launched a new initiative to help local residents rid their homes and businesses of hazardous waste like spray pesticides, antifreeze, spray paint, auto batteries, cooking grease, fluorescent bulbs, lawn care products, paint thinners, wood preservatives and more. Over the course of just a few hours, several Gwinnett County organizations and a team of volunteers processed more than 800 automobiles and collected over 30 tons of hazardous household waste. This year, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and its partners are hoping for an even more successful event.

“Last year, we were overwhelmed by the response to our event and – sadly, despite our best intentions – had to turn away some of our neighbors once the event had ended,” said Schelly Marlatt, Executive Director of Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful. “Having never hosted an event like this before, we had no way to gauge the magnitude of participation. We’ve learned a lot in the year since. We’ve extended the event by an hour and moved it to a larger venue to process a greater number of cars. We’re really excited to help our neighbors in unincorporated Gwinnett dispose of their hazardous materials safely, properly and for free.”

Hosted from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, July 20 at Gwinnett County Fairgrounds – located at 2405 Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrenceville, the event allows Gwinnett residents to bring up to five “containers” each, filled with household hazardous waste items for disposal at no charge*. Containers should be roughly the size of copy paper boxes or regular laundry baskets, and residents may place however many of the items listed below that will fit into the containers without stacking. The following items are considered hazardous household waste that will be collected during the event:

• Aerosol/spray pesticides
• Automotive products (engine degreaser, brake fluid, transmission fluid, antifreeze, etc.)
• Cleaners, corrosives, spot removers, acids and bases
• Aerosol/spray paint
• Auto batteries
• Batteries (household and rechargeable)
• Chlorinated solvents
• Cooking oil and grease
• Fire extinguishers
• Flammables (lighter fluid and waste fuels (kerosene, gasoline, diesel fuel, etc.)
• Fluorescent bulbs and ballasts
• Insecticides
• Latex and water-based paints
• Lawn care products
• Mercury
• Mercury salts and elemental mercury thermometers
• Oil based paint and stains
• Oxidizers
• Pesticides
• Poisons
• Propane cylinders
• Solvents and varnishes
• Thermostats and other mercury containing items
• Thinners and paint strippers
• Weed killer
• Wood preservatives

Items that will NOT be collected include: Ammunition, Radioactive Waste, Pharmaceuticals and Biomedical/biohazard waste. Anyone who has questions in the days leading up to the event is asked to call 678.376.6785. Please visit http://www.gwinnettcb.org/event/hhw/ for more information.

About Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful:  Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful Services, Inc. (GCB) is a Keep America Beautiful affiliate and award-winning 501(c)(3) charitable organization. It boasts an expansive community-based network dedicated to finding long-term solutions to environmental and quality of life issues through individual action. The organization is guided by a Citizens Advisory Board that represents all sectors of the Gwinnett County community. A nationally recognized leader in creating cleaner, greener and more livable communities throughout Gwinnett, GCB involves more than 100,000 volunteers annually to clean and restore public places, recycle more, protect watersheds and develop the next generation of environmental stewards. To learn more about Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and its mission of “Connecting People and Resources for a Sustainable Gwinnett,” please visit www.GwinnettCB.org.

*Items do not have to be held in containers during drop-off.