Longford County Council has implemented a project on hazardous waste in the county.
The project involved the specialised collection of hazardous waste in four locations in the local authority area. It also included a survey of service users about their thoughts and behaviour in relation to waste.
In summary the aims of the project were as follows:
- To remove a significant volume of stored hazardous waste in a concerted effort over a short period using temporary collection facilities in convenient locations.
- To safely reuse some of these materials, such as paints, in local community groups.
- To educate people in terms of the proper use of such chemicals and to ensure safe disposal so that environmental damage can be avoided.
- To promote the use of environmentally friendly alternatives for household cleaning and maintenance, gardening and pest control.
- To gather information about hazardous waste use and disposal habits so as to assist the Council with future hazardous waste management planning.
There are currently no local facilities in County Longford, public or private, available to householders to facilitate the disposal of household hazardous waste.
In the last few years Longford County Council has held waste paint collections exclusively for householders in an attempt to address this deficit. The initiative proved popular and was very well supported. The quality and age of the containers collected indicated that much of this material had been stockpiled, so it is very likely that other hazardous waste is similarly retained in sheds and garages throughout the county.
Between all four collections just under 700kg of paint was kept for re-use amongst local community groups for painting projects. While smaller quantities were collected in Longford, Ballymahon and Lanesboro the majority was collected in Granard.
It is hoped that, by the awareness raising element of this project, that the use of hazardous materials may be reduced in the county, and that people may opt for more benign products such as greener cleaning agents and non-solvent paints.