A program that allows Allen residents to safely dispose and reuse household chemicals will continue for at least the next two years.
The City of Allen offers Hazardous Household Waste (HHW) collection to residents for disposal of household products commonly used in the kitchen, bathroom, pool, garden and garage. Examples include cooking oil, furniture polish, pool cleaners, fertilizer, paint and primer, gasoline, car and rechargeable batteries, motor oil and other common household chemicals.
Donna Kliewer, waste services manager for the City of Allen, stresses the importance of discarding this kind of waste properly.
"Items tossed in your trash bin could leak from the service truck and seep into storm drains, which run into creeks and streams," explains Kliewer. "Pouring hazardous waste down your sink or flushing it down the toilet could damage your pipes or impact the quality of our local water supply."
Each household may use the service up to twice per year to collect up to 50 pounds of chemicals. To schedule pickup, submit a request online at CityofAllen.org/HHW or call 214.509.3100. Once your service is scheduled, City staff will drop off a red bin with notice of your collection date and handling instructions. Bring the bin to your curb on collection day and City staff will transport the items to a licensed chemical processing center shared with the City of Plano.
Anything suitable for reuse is available free of charge to Allen residents at two locations: the Allen Chemical Reuse Center (900 S. Greenville Ave., inside the Municipal Service Center) and the Plano Chemical Reuse Center (4110 W. Plano Parkway, Plano). Visitors must show a current drivers license with an Allen or Plano address. Commonly available items include paint, cleaning supplies, automotive fluids and pool chemicals.
The HHW program is funded through a monthly $0.57 cent charge on each residential water utility bill. An interlocal agreement with the City of Plano allows Allen to offer this helpful service with minimal administration costs. Allen City Council voted to renew the two-year agreement during the August 28 meeting.
Details on HHW collection, chemical reuse center hours, and other City waste services are available at CityofAllen.org/HHW.