Tox-Away Day Set for This Saturday in Downtown Evansville

Chances are somewhere at your house, whether it's the garage, the shed, or a closet somewhere, there's a few paint cans with various amounts of paint in them from the time you got a wild hair and decided the bedroom, kitchen, or living room needed a new color. Or, maybe you're the type who enjoys doing your own routine vehicle maintenance and you have a few jugs of old motor oil or antifreeze sitting on a shelf (guilty, party of one, your table is ready). Whatever it is, it's there because you couldn't dispose of it right then and there, or were too tired after the project was finished to mess with it, and told yourself you'd get to it later. Now, it's four years later and those paint cans and oil jugs are still sitting where you left them. If you live in Vanderburgh County, your chance to finally get rid of them is coming up this Saturday (April 17th, 2021).

The annual event will take place from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. in the Civic Center parking lot on Walnut Street. Representatives from the Solid Waste District will be on hand during that time to take all those fluids off your hands and make sure they get disposed of. With COVID-19 still very much a thing in the area, organizers are asking you to place all the materials you want to dispose of in the trunk of your car or the bed of your truck so they can be unloaded safely by the workers on site. They're also asking you to wear a face mask.

While they will take quite a variety of chemicals, they won't take everything. Here's what will and won't be accepted, according to the City of Evansville website:

Yes

Motor Oil & Filters
Oil Based Paint
Automotive Batteries & Fluids
Solvents & Thinners
Gasoline
Antifreeze
Household Batteries
Pesticides & Herbicides
Thermometers/Mercury
Aerosol Cans
Household Cleaners
Glues & Adhesives
Photographic Chemicals
Pool Chemicals
Fluorescent Bulbs
Pharmaceuticals

No

Commercial Waste
Infectious Waste
Industrial Waste
Radioactive Waste
Explosives/Ammunition
Appliances
Pressurized Containers
Fire Extinguishers
Gas Cylinders
Appliances
Electronics
Tires
Latex Paint*
- *Can be thrown away in regular trash when it is hard - air dry or add kitty litter or sawdust to solidify.

One more thing to note, this service is available to Vanderburgh County residents only, and is not available to businesses.

[Source: City of Evansville]