A large amount of the community’s hazardous waste is going into the city sewer system, according to Water/Wastewater Department Manager John Stockton.

Unlike two adjoining counties, local governments have never had a system for keeping hazardous materials out of landfills, the sewer system, lakes, streams or rivers.

Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful Director Lynne Hart returned to the Athens City Council Monday to update a previous proposal to pay for hazardous waste collection. Since her first presentation to the council, Hart has met with the Limestone County Commission and Councilman Ronnie Marks.

Hart said Monday a contract with Clear Harbor Inc. for a one-time collection, in which city and county residents could bring in batteries, paints, chemicals and even fuel tanks, would cost nearly $24,000. She said the county had agreed to pay half. She asked the city for the other half.

“Huntsville and Decatur have contracts with Clean Harbor for once-a-month collections,” Hart said. “KALB and the Recycling Center would coordinate the collection. The county has given a verbal okay and now we’re waiting on the City Council.”

Recycling Center Manager Gary Poole said, “We expect an unbelievable amount of paint to come in.”

However, both Poole and Hart said Clean Harbor would not take “e-waste”— electronic waste such as computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers and fax machines. 

“Gary and I started this conversation at his Rotary presentation a few months ago,” Stockton said. “We said we need to do something about all this grease going down into our sewers, but this doesn’t do anything for that issue. A lot of people think if they pour hot water on grease it dissolves and carries it out to the sewer. Well, it carries it about 20 feet from the house and there it stops. We need to set up a point where households can bring fats, oils and grease in. If we could keep just half of that out of the sewers it would help.”

Councilwoman Milly Caudle said the ideas of a hazardous-waste collection day and a drop-off point for household grease both warrant “serious consideration.” The council took no action on either proposal, however, Marks said he would introduce an amendment to the city’s hazardous-waste ordinance at the next meeting on March 24.