SANDWICH – Barnstable County officials are highlighting the importance of the region’s household hazardous waste collection events ahead of this weekend’s collection scheduled for Upper Cape residents.
County Hazardous Materials Environmental Specialist and Groundwater Guardian Kalliope Chute said that the events are vital in keeping the region’s Sole Source Aquifer free of harmful materials that could potentially harm residents.
“A hundred percent of our drinking water comes from the stored body of water right under the sand that we all live on, and so it’s very vulnerable to contamination. What happens above the sandbar affects what happens to our drinking water,” said Chute.
“Say there’s a fire or flood or some other emergency and household chemicals wash out of the home or evaporate out during a fire—those chemicals can end up in our aquifer. Things that are improperly flushed or illegally dumped can end up in our drinking water.”
Chute added that the collection events help protect first responders like firefighters, who may be harmed by dangerous chemicals stored in a home they are responding to.
She said there is also an added threat for police or public works officials, who do not respond to emergencies with protective breathing apparatus as they remain outside burning buildings, but could still be in danger of breathing in dangerous evaporated chemicals.
Certain chemicals could also lead to stronger, more dangerous blazes if kept in the home.
In 2021, the events collected over 625,000 pounds of hazardous waste from over 6,000 residents.
“By having these 24 events yearly on Cape Cod, we really hope that people do the right thing, as it were, and dispose of the waste that is too toxic to trash appropriately.”
A household hazardous waste collection is scheduled for Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm at Sandwich High School for residents of Bourne, Falmouth, Mashpee, Sandwich and Joint Base Cape Cod.
Hazardous items include pain thinners, non-latex paint, pesticides, boat chemicals and solvents.
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