The Metropolitan Environmental Trust seeks a new hazardous waste site and facility to make it more convenient for Tulsans to dump hazardous materials. The executive director, Michael Patton, says the current twice a year disposal plan is no longer working.
"The systems need to have it more frequent. They (citizens) are moving in the middle of the summer and that's when they have all of this stuff, or they're trying to clean out a house, or a relative passed away. They can't wait six months to get rid of simple chemicals from their home," Patton says, "The real issue is that people have to much of this, so we're trying to educate people to buy less and use it up."
The MET wants to give people a chance to clean their household out when they're ready to get rid of chemicals, and not only twice a year. Patton says education is needed in the awareness of hazardous chemicals.
"Look for the word 'danger,' 'caution,' 'warning,' 'flammable,' 'corrosive,' these things exist on labels, and people don't read labels, they just start using, and they don't place them properly. They have half a bottle underneath the sink. That's where child poisoning comes from, is open bottles of stuff people have stored, hoping to use them again someday," Patton says.
He adds that the new facility would make each household, neighborhood, and the environment safer, all at once.
Funding for the proposal could be included in the upcoming capital improvements sales tax question.