FLORENCE, Ky. — Boone County hosted the largest household hazardous waste collection in the state on Saturday.
The county holds the event to decrease the amount of non-bio-degradable material, such as batteries, gasoline and antifreeze.
Batteries, antifreeze and paint are all hazardous materials that many don’t know how to dispose of properly.
The event attracted over 2,000 Bonne, Campbell and Kenton residents and uses about 250 volunteers to make it all happen. 11-year-old Caiden Folz, the youngest volunteer to date, said he’s been waiting nearly his whole life to volunteer at this event.
“My mom let me come this year because I was finally old enough to do this,” Folz said. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a few years, and I finally got to come and do it.”
He said they’ll almost take anything. “We collected everything that’s practically not garbage. So, everything recyclable except for electronics. I found a bunch of propane tanks, fire extinguishers, paint, canned five gallons, one gallon, 14 quarts,” said Folz.
Megan Clere, Campbell County solid waste coordinator, said she hopes Caiden volunteering will inspire other kids.
“It’s good to start them early, we always say,” said Clere. “So, that’s why you’re learning about this in school. Learning about recycling in school is that when you grow up. You know what can be recycled, what can’t be recycled, what should go into the landfill, what shouldn’t. These are things that we need to know to keep our future healthy.”
His mom said it’s always been a part of their family.
Mrs. Folz said, “It’s something that the whole family does. We do everything from hazardous waste to road cleanups to recycling. So, it’s a normal part of our everyday. And this just happens to be the one that Boone County puts on. And Megan does a great job for us, and we’re excited to keep adding family members as they get older.”
Folz stressed why he wants his neighbors to come out and drop off their things.
“They don’t need it,” Folz said. “They don’t use it. It’s just some random things that they have in their house that they don’t need.”
The organizer also shared that hazardous items contain harmful chemicals and material that shouldn’t be discarded in the regular trash. It can leak into the soil and waterways, causing more issues for the environment and people.
Last year, the event collected over 280,000 thousand pounds of hazardous items and unloaded the items from over 2,000 resident vehicles. To find out how to safety dispose of items like batteries, old electronics, antifreeze, or gasoline visit the Boone County Household Hazardous Waste website.