Pennsylvania Resources Council starts spring collection events

It’s May and the Pennsylvania Resources Council has released its spring schedule of household chemical collections and hard-to-recycle collections.

North Park will be the setting for the first of each in Allegheny County. Household chemicals will be collected this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The hard-to-recycle collection is set for May 17 there with the same time frame. Both require pre-registration, according to a PRC news release.

A $20 fee will cover the cost of disposing every 10 gallons/50 pounds of aerosol cans, automotive fluids, chemistry sets, gasoline and kerosene, household cleaners, mercury thermometers, paint products, pesticides/garden chemicals, photo chemicals and pool chemicals.  Loads exceeding 10 gallons/50 pounds will be subject to additional fees at the discretion of on-site staff.

All chemical collections are drive-through events. Participants should place items in their car trunks or truck beds and stay in their vehicles while contractors unload the materials. PRC accepts cash, checks, credit and debit cards.

Two other chemical collections are scheduled for June 7 at Central Cambria High School, Ebensburg, and June 14 at the Fayette County Recycling Convenience Center, Uniontown. Both will take place from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

The hard-to-recycle collections enable residents to drop off unlimited cell/home phones, computer towers and peripheral equipment (keyboards, laptops, mice, etc.), expanded polystyrene packaging material, microwave ovens and video game consoles/DVD players for a $5 fee, according to the release. For an additional fee, individuals can recycle televisions and computer monitors, printers, fluorescent tubes, small Freon appliances and tires (with and without rims). The PRC website has a complete price list.

Participants must register in advance on the PRC website or by calling 412-488-7490.

The collection events serve two purposes: enable residents to dispose properly of items not collected curbside by municipalities’ contracted waste haulers and to help the environment.

For example, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an average home can easily accumulate 100 pounds or more of cleaners, automotive fluids, paints, pesticides and other products containing potentially hazardous components. While these products are safe to use if proper precautions are taken, problems generally arise via improper use or disposal.

The collection events’ fees remain low because PRC has sponsors for each endeavor.

The 2025 PRC household chemical collection campaign is sponsored by Allegheny County Health Department, Allegheny County Parks Department, Beaver County Commissioners, Cambria County Solid Waste Authority, Fayette County Commissioners, Fayette County Conservation District, Washington County Planning Commission, Colcom Foundation, HF Sinclair, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania American Water, Sonneborn LLC, UPMC, Central Cambria School District, Fayette County Recycling Convenience Center, and Karns City Area School District.

The 2025 PRC hard-to-recycle collection campaign is sponsored by Allegheny County Health Department, Allegheny County Parks Department, Colcom Foundation, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, 11 Cares, Pennsylvania American Water, Quaker Valley Council of Governments, Styropek, 90.5 WESA and 91.3 WYEP.

For more information and pre-registration, visit www.prc.org/CollectionEvents or call PRC at 412-488-7490. Summer hard-to-recycle collection events have been posted on the website, too. Registration for those will open later.