December 28, 2020

By Brandon Hearn

Since 1993, Johnson County Government has operated a Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) recycling facility, enabling Johnson County residents and small businesses to recycle their used or unwanted chemicals.

Located in northern Johnson County, this facility accepts everything from paint, stain and batteries to household cleaners, used gasoline and a wide range of other household chemicals. We give these items a second life and keep them out of the environment where they could pollute our water and soil or end up in the landfill where they would be buried underground.

Since its inception, the Johnson County HHW facility has collected more than 12 million pounds of waste from more than 200,000 residents. In 2019 alone, 700,000 pounds of waste materials were collected. The collection includes acid and bases that are neutralized, flammable liquids and gasoline that are bulked and burned as a fuel source saving virgin fuel, and pesticides that are incinerated.

In addition, 113,600 pounds of materials were reused through our FreeStore reuse program. Nearly 10,000 gallons of usable latex paint were also collected and re-blended through our Paint Recycling Program. Usable latex paint which comes to us from Johnson County homes, is mixed into several different colors onsite and is available for purchase for between $20-$35 per five gallon bucket; helping to fund our program.

The Johnson County facility is open year round on Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays. There are two options for scheduling a drop off at the Johnson County HHW facility: you can schedule online by going to jocogov.org/hhw or by calling 913-715-6907. Depending on the time of year, there may be a wait for this location. The city of Olathe also has a drop off location that any Johnson County resident can use. You can schedule a drop off through their website: olatheks.org/government/utilities/recycling/household-hazardous-waste.

For disabled or homebound residents, we offer a mobile collection service. For more information on that program, please call 913-715-6907. If you have any questions about recycling, HHW or anything else environmental, please contact me, Brandon Hearn at brandon.hearn@jocogov.org or at 913-715-6936. Without the support of all our incredible residents, we would not have reached this level of success. Thank you for doing your part.

Brandon Hearn is an environmental health specialist at the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment.