Household Chemical Day Is Saturday, Oct. 18

Residents in the city of Lafayette and in unincorporated areas of Lafayette Parish can dispose of household chemicals such as paint, poison, chemical cleaners, mercury, and other chemicals at the household chemical disposal day tomorrow Saturday, Oct. 18.

The event will be held at the Cajun Field Parking lot, off of W. Congress St.  Attendees will enter at Gate 4, off of W. Congress St.  The event is scheduled from 8 a.m. until noon.

Household chemical days are jointly sponsored by Lafayette Consolidated Government and Republic Services.  Consolidated Government has conducted the event since 1993.  The event was moved to Cajun Field in 2007, and since then the event has been held twice per year, with a spring and fall event.

“This project fits right in with President [Joey] Durel's 'Project Front Yard,' which is the recently-announced initiative to encourage Lafayette citizens to do the right thing to make Lafayette as safe and clean as possible,” said Environmental Quality Manager Mark Pope.

Pope says he is especially proud of the people who attend.  Every chemical collection day, he says, 800 - 1,200 people attend the event and drop off 30 tons of chemicals. Since the inception of the program 600 tons of chemicals have been collected and properly disposed.

Only residents who reside in the city of Lafayette and unincorporated areas of Lafayette Parish can attend, Pope said, and no businesses are allowed to drop off chemicals.

“Those who attend our event know that chemicals do not belong in the regular garbage. They know that all waste should be properly disposed of so that Lafayette can be the safest, cleanest place to live, work, and visit.  Our chemical day customers know that cleaning up Lafayette involves every citizen doing his or her part, and these folks demonstrate that by their actions,” he  said.

An information flyer listing the items that will be accepted at the chemical day is available on-line at lafayettela.gov.  Residents may also call the Environmental Quality Division at 291-8529.