Getting the lead out

In previous posts I've been writing about how I'm trying to make sure that I'm not disposing of any painting debris that would be harmful to the environment and the bay. I think I've been pretty successful in switching over to non-toxic paints and solvents, but I still have some paints to use up that contain lead and zinc oxide, so I've saved my rags and paint jars until I had a chance to take them to the "Eco-Depot", which travels to different locations in Rhode Island and collects just about anything that you are not supposed to throw in the trash. Saturday they were going to be in my city, so Friday I went to their website for details and found that I was supposed to have made an appointment a few days in advance. I put in my request anyway (a very simple process) a few hours later got an email which told me to come at 11:15 the next day. Of course, being Saturday morning I was trying to do too many chores at once, so was running about a half and hour late by the time I loaded up the truck with my trash cans, and threw in a few old batteries for good measure.

I was concerned that I would miss my appointment, but when I got there I found myself in a short line of cars waiting to check in. They didn't ask my name or check to see if I had an appointment, their only question was "what do you have?" "Oil paint, jars and rags" "Pull up over there". Two friendly men unloaded my truck, returned my empty cans and I was on my way in about a minute. I could have really just shown up without an appointment, but I think they schedule people just to keep the traffic moving. I was glad to see so many other people dropping off stuff, and a large crew of people sorting trash and directing it towards safe disposal. Here's a link to find out when they're coming to your town. They take old computer stuff too.