Director of
Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services (HCDOES) Spoke at
Club Meeting Sept. 17, 2007
Cory R. Chadwick, Director of the Hamilton County Department
of Environmental Services (HCDOES), spoke at the club meeting on September
17, 2007. Mr. Chadwick spoke about Hamilton County air quality issues
and solid waste planning. He explained how air quality is measured, what
the County is doing for better air quality, and how residents can take
advantage of hazardous waste recycling programs.
Air quality is measured by the amount of particulate matter
found in the air. Among the particulate matter measured are sulfate, organic
carbon, nitrate, ammonium, elemental carbon, crustal matter and trace
elements. The amount of particulate matter in the air is caused by idling
of diesel engines, power plants, farming, and manufacturing plants. Heat
and air stagnation can be factors in higher particulate matter readings,
such as in 2005 when an air stagnation alert caused Hamilton County to
rise from 60th place to 8th place in the nationwide reading.
In 2006, Hamilton County ranked number 56 in the country
for particulate matter. The county also measures ozone exceedences, which
is experiencing a downward trend. Mr. Chadwick explained that over the
past five years the air quality in Hamilton County has gotten better overall.
Of course, they continue to promote measures to better the air quality.
Recent programs include "cleaning up the exhaust emissions" and "reducing
idle time". To clean up exhaust emissions, 265 school buses were fueled
with 20% biodiesel fuel and retrofitted with diesel oxidation catalysts,
"removing 26,000 lbs of pollutants per year (13 tons!)".
The other focus of the department at this time is solid
waste planning (ie. recycling). In both the residential/commercial and
industrial sectors, Hamilton County is meeting the state mandated goal
of 25% recycling program participation. In 2005, 35% of the residential/commercial
sector and almost 50% of the industrial sector were participating.
Television
Recycling Event
Thurs. Oct. 11 and Fri. Oct. 12 9:00am - 5:00pm; Sat. Oct. 13 10:00am-2:00pm
* Registration is required
Household
Hazardous Waste Collection Program
through Oct. 27, please see website
Yardwaste
Recycling Drop-Off Sites
through Nov. 25, 2007, Saturdays and Sundays 11:30am - 5:00pm; Jan. 5
- Jan. 12, 2008, Saturdays only 11:30am - 3:30pm
Free Computer Recycling Drop-Off
through Dec. 28, Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm
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