Georgetown County household hazardous waste collection event happening Saturday

Get rid of those old paint cans and pesticides cluttering up the garage!

The Georgetown County semi annual household hazardous waste cleanup event is happening from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Palmetto Ace Home Center on U.S. 17 in Pawleys Island on Saturday.

Georgetown County Public Services Department workers are accepting unwanted paint, batteries, pesticides, fertilizers and other hazardous household materials during the four-hour collection event, officials said.

The public service department and its Stormwater Division schedule these collections in the spring and fall on the Waccamaw Neck to ensure a convenient way for residents to safely discard unwanted household items.

At the last event, 2.6 tons of hazardous household materials were collected for safe disposal, and prior collections exceeded three tons. However, the goal is to have numbers drop gradually as residents clear out stockpiles of old — often decades old — materials, officials said.

Distribution of educational information from the Stormwater Division is also usually a part of the event as officials strive to better educate the public on the importance of safe disposal of hazardous household materials.

“These events are a matter of convenience for residents, but for us, it’s not only an opportunity to make sure these materials are being handled the right way, but to share our message and talk to people about recycling and stormwater, and why they should be concerned about these things,” said Tracy Jones, Stormwater Division manager in a press release.

For more information, visit http://www.gtcounty.org/stormwater or call the Georgetown County Stormwater Division 843-545-3524.

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Georgetown County household hazardous waste collection event happening Saturday."