HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION DAYS...


This is not a Dutch still-life...it is from a previous "Good Riddance Day" in Weston!    Here is the 2006 flyer!

Grenade Detonated at Haz-Mat Collection Site
Westport NEWS
By Kirk Lang
Article Launched:10/18/2006 04:50:48 PM EDT

Hazardous Materials Collection Day held Saturday at the Westport Weston Health District, brought out residents armed with fertilizer, old oil-based paint, insecticides and other hazardous materials removed from garages and basements. The event also brought out one elderly woman who arrived with a live grenade.
According to Fire Inspector Nathaniel W. Gibbons, who along with other firefighters was working with employees of a private waste management company at the collection site on Bayberry Lane, the woman approached him just before noon with "something her husband brought back from the war." Gibbons, quickly realizing this wasn't a normal household product, placed the military hand grenade in a box and carried it away from the public area.

Acting Fire Marshal Edward Zygmant subsequently contacted the Connecticut State Police Department's Emergency Service Unit. State Police technicians determined the grenade to be live ordinance dating from the early World War II era. After closing the site off to the public, they detonated it to render the device safe, according to Zygmant.

Grenades are not accepted at hazardous waste collections, according to police and fire officials. There are three categories of items that are not supposed to be dropped off: ammunition, explosives and fireworks, said Zygmant. However, he said there was no sign that would have let the woman know grenades were not among the permitted drop-off items. Deputy Police Chief Donald Brown said the woman should not have risked driving the live grenade to the site and said residents who may have similar items should "notify us and we'll make arrangements for proper disposal."
Asked if the woman was lucky the grenade didn't go off in her home, Brown said, "I'm just glad everything worked out for her." Zygmant, when asked whether the grenade could have gone off even without pulling the pin, said, "There's always a possibility."

He said he wasn't totally surprised to see the elderly woman arrive with a grenade in her hands at the collection site. In fact, there is a good chance there may be others in town with similar devices.

"During the World War II era, many individuals brought 'souvenirs' back, various items from the war," said Zygmant. "Apparently these items are put away and often forgotten about and, in this case, she brought what was deemed a hazardous material to the collection day."

Like Brown, Zygmant advises residents to allow trained professionals to move grenades and other explosives, because one can't always be sure whether or not they are "live."

"If anyone has any type of war relics, notify the authorities. Don't touch them. Call the Police or Fire Department," he said. Residents who were turned away from Saturday's Hazardous Materials Collection Day because of the grenade incident are encouraged to bring their old oil-based paints, solvents and other items to the following locations over the next two Saturdays: WWTP, 394 Main St., New Canaan, on Saturday, Oct. 21 between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. and 131 School Road, Wilton, on Saturday, Oct. 28 (NO, the 21st) between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.



APRIL 28, 2002:  SECOND REGIONAL "GOOD RIDDANCE DAY" HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION
All over 'til next year...photographs of "Good Riddance Day 2001" below!  So how did it go for "Good Riddance" day in Weston this year?
There has been a steady decline in numbers of Weston cars showing up at Household Hazardous Waste Collection Days in Weston.  In 1995 there were 393 cars at a Weston-only hazardous waste collection--this year 224 Westonites showed up.  This is a good thing...people are getting careful about what materials they buy, and the industries producing it are getting more careful about what ingredients they use in their products.  (For example, household alkaline batteries are no longer hazardous--the dangerous ingredient is no longer used.)

The weather was perfect (a little windy--papers got blown around) and of the 34 out-of-town participants, most commented that Weston was too beautiful (they hadn't been here in a while).  They genuinely seemed happy to be at this Weston stop on the Spring hazardous waste days for the region.

How did we do compared to Greenwich last week?
A total of 258 cars (in four hours) attended in Weston, averaging 64.5 cars per hour.  At Greenwich Town Hall last week,  there were 400 cars in six hours--an average of 66.6 per hour.

Thank you for attending--and if you need to dispose of household hazardous waste, please know that there will be three more events this Spring:

MAY 5 - Stratford Public Works Garage, 8am-1pm, 550 Patterson Avenue
MAY 19 - Norwalk High School, County Street, 9am-3pm
JUNE 2 - Darien Town Hall, 2 Renshaw Road, 9am-2pm

TIP FOR WESTONITES WHO MISSED THE APRIL 28 COLLECTION:
A nice lady from the Glenville section of Stamford said she used the Internet to find the DPW location in Weston--so why don't Westonites do the same if they have trouble locating the sites in other towns? http://www.mapquest.com



NEW SITE FOR WESTON HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION IN 2001 (NO LONGER W.H.S. PARKING LOT)...

Welcome to the Weston DPW garage (l)...historical photo of previous "Good Riddance Day" (center);  REMEMBER: no latex April 28, or at the other dates listed above (only in Wilton in the Fall).  NO WAIT, NO FEE AND NO LATEX...bring I.D.  NEW BIG SAND PILE (r)  AT WESTON DPW GARAGE ON OLD HYDE ROAD AFTER THIS PAST WINTER!!! 

"Good Riddance Day" 2001 report:

MORE SCENES FROM REGIONAL HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION April 28, 2001:
Classic disposal photo in Weston--gasoline and what's this--Vodka--gasoline and liquor don't mix  (chemists sorting waste must know this);  cutest animal ("Blanche" the adopted pit-bull dog);  the Good Riddance Guys from DPW.  As noted above, the numbers of cars from Weston was lower than in recent history--but then, this could mean that Westonites are recycling material more than ever...more pictures HERE.