HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION GOES SMOOTHER

The crews were ready, roads well marked and everything in order for the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day held Saturday at Arena Park's 4-H building.

Organizers were determined not to have the traffic tie-up and long waits that accompanied the first collection day in 1998.

"We're a lot more organized this year," said Steve Cook, environmental service coordinator for Cape Girardeau.

Crowds were so overwhelming at the first collection day that a second day had to be held later in the year.

No one was turned away this year as long as they were in line by noon. Safety-Kleen employees set up stations for the various types of hazardous materials included in the collection list.

"The first time was overwhelming, the second time went a lot smoother, and today we're really organized," Don Lind, manager of Safety-Kleen said Saturday.

Traffic was slow but steady.

"The longest wait was probably the guy who came at 6:30 a.m., and we weren't ready until about 8 a.m.," said Lind.

"I think people got caught up," said Cook. Before last year's collection day it had been about eight years since an organized collection of household hazardous wastes had been held.

Fred Snider took paint and stripper to the disposal site. "Some of this had been sitting around for 15 years," he said. "This was a chance to get rid of it."

Lind said paint was the No. 1 product of the day.

The collection day serves a two-fold purpose: Residents not only rid their houses of hazardous products, they also provide materials to help the environment.

When paint is mixed with other ingredients it can be used as a fuel, mainly for cement kilns. "It burns a lot cleaner than coal," said Lind.