On Saturday, March 16,
the 15th Household Hazardous Materials Collection Day
was held in Luling, LaPlace and Lutcher. This event has been held annually since 1998, and its purpose is to provide area households an opportunity to properly
dispose or recycle materials that are inappropriate
for curbside pickup. Materials such as solvents, poisons, used oil, electronics and corrosives require special handling to minimize safety and environmental impact.  
Numerous area manufacturers sponsored the event, providing funding and volunteers. Of the 58,979 pounds of materials collected, 90 percent was recycled or recovered. More than 16,000 more pounds was collected during the 2013 event, which is particularly remarkable since so many residents, particularly in St. John the Baptist Parish, disposed of items post-Hurricane Isaac. Of the 58,979 pounds, 7,720 pounds was used oil, and 3,300 pounds were batteries. Used electronics accounted for 17,671 pounds. The three sites this year included assistance from 104 volunteers who serviced drop-offs from 480 vehicles.
With approval from Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and support from St. Charles Parish Council, St. James Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness, Department of Transportation and Development and St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office, this event was sponsored by the following companies as a community service: Air Products (multiple locations), American Styrenics, ArcelorMittal (formerly Bayou Steel), Cornerstone Chemical Company, Dow, DuPont, Entergy, Ergon, Evonik Corporation, Galata Chemicals LLC, LOCAP, Marathon Petroleum Company LP, Momentive, Monsanto, Mosaic, Motiva Enterprises, Nalco – an EcoLab Company, Noranda, Nucor, NuStar, OxyChem (two sites), Plains Marketing, LP, Shell, Shell Pipeline, St. James CAER, Valero and Valero Asphalt. Other organizations that provided volunteers, support services and/or recycling were: ArcelorMittal, COLT Inc., FCC Environmental, The Green Project, Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry, Lutcher Senior Center, New Wine Christian Fellowship, Philip Services Corporation, Positive Results, Inc. and St. Charles Parish School Board – Luling. LEI – Lamp Environmental Industries and Philip Reclamation Services provided waste and recycling professional services.