Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (Resource Recovery) will host two Eco-Depot collections on Saturday, August 12.

Co-hosted with the town of East Greenwich Department of Public Works, Rhode Island residents can bring household hazardous waste to the Public Works Highway Garage located at 2 Bear Swamp Road in East Greenwich from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. A second collection will occur at Resource Recovery located at 65 Shun Pike in Johnston from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Both collections are available free of charge to Rhode Island residents only. To help reduce time spent in line, appointments should be made in advance.

Created in 2001, the Eco-Depot program is a free service offered by Resource Recovery that provides for the proper handling, packaging, storage, transportation and disposal of household hazardous waste. Since its inception, Resource Recovery has collected approximately 11.9 million pounds of household hazardous waste and served more than 155,000 Rhode Islanders (and counting).

Many common household items are actually household hazardous waste materials that should not be collected through Rhode Island’s standard trash and recycling collection services. These materials include: fluorescent light bulbs, gasoline, pesticides, oil-based paints, disinfectants, used motor oil and lawn and pool chemicals. When not properly collected and disposed, these materials can cause harm to the local environment by contaminating Rhode Island’s waterways. For a full list of household hazardous waste materials, please visit www.ecodepotri.org.

The upcoming collections in East Greenwich and Johnston are two of 46 Eco-Depot collections Resource Recovery will provide throughout the state in 2017. To make an appointment for a collection or to view the entire 2017 Eco-Depot schedule, visit www.ecodepotri.org or call 942-1430 x241. Rhode Islanders may make an appointment for any Eco-Depot event that fits their schedule.

Resource Recovery is the quasi-public agency dedicated to providing Rhode Islanders with safe, environmentally compliant, clean, and cost effective waste and recycling services. The agency operates the state’s Materials Recycling Facility, Leaf and Yard Compost, Eco-Depot, and Central Landfill, and provides free programs and services to help the RI community manage materials more in a more sustainable way.