Household hazardous chemical collection set for Aug. 20 at Boyce Park


Any state resident can take their household chemicals to Boyce Park’s ski lodge parking lot for disposal from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 20.

Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC) and Allegheny County Health Department are hosting collection events where residents can dispose of cleaners, paints, stains, varnishes, batteries, motor oil and pesticides.

Residents must register in advance online at prc.org/CollectionEvents or by calling 412-488-7490, ext. 1.

PRC will charge a $20 fee to cover the disposal costs of up to 10 gallons or 50 pounds of aerosol cans, automotive fluids, chemistry sets, electronic cigarettes, gasoline, kerosene, household cleaners, mercury thermometers, paint products, pesticides, garden chemicals, photo chemicals and pool chemicals.

The agency will tack on additional fees for loads exceeding 10 gallons or 50 pounds, as well as for special items such as fire extinguishers ($12) or liquid mercury ($15 per pound).

Participating residents will need to pack the hazardous materials in their car trunks or trunk beds for a contractor to unload at the recycling event.

Household chemical collections events prevent toxic chemicals from ending up in landfills, leaching into waterways and contaminating the environment, said PRC Executive Director Darren Spielman in a news release.

PRC has collected about 6 million pounds of household chemicals at more than 100 events.

This Allegheny County collection is the seventh of nine events held in 2022. The remaining PRC household chemical collections are set for Sept. 10 in South Park and Oct. 8 in Beaver County.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection advises residents to learn more and verify information on hazardous waste collections as different municipalities and county governments offer different collections.

To help the public learn more about their collection options in their home county, the DEP has assembled a list of county programs along with contacts.