When and where to dispose of household hazardous waste in Burnet County
Daniel Craig (left) of the Burnet County Precinct 4 road crew tracks the tire count at the 2023 BOPATE collection while two residents of the Intermediate Sanction Facility in Burnet take a break from stacking the rubber rubbish. Photo courtesy of Joe Don Dockery
Batteries, tires, paints, and antifreeze are just four items in a long list of ignitable, corrosive, reactive, and toxic waste that can be found in any household but are hard to get rid of safely and legally. In Burnet County, residents have two opportunities each year to dispose of problem trash for free, the next one scheduled for April 20.
The county is accepting batteries, oil, paint, antifreeze, tires, and electronics, or BOPATE, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. that Saturday at the Burnet County Reuse and Recycle Center, 2411 FM 963 in Burnet.
“Burnet County borders on five lakes,” said Precinct 4 Commissioner Joe Don Dockery. “The BOPATE and HHW events protect both our surface and groundwater in the county.”
HHW stands for Hazardous Household Waste, a collection set for Oct. 19 with the same hours and location as BOPATE.
“If people don’t have the opportunity to dispose of a product properly, they will do it improperly,” Dockery said. “Which might mean pouring it along a curb or pouring it out on someone’s property and causing a contamination issue.”
That’s why the county has been holding hazardous waste drop-offs since 2006 and why the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office hired an environmental crimes officer in 2016, both part of the effort to preserve the beautiful Highland Lakes.
BCSO Deputy Paul Kowalik has been enforcing state trash laws in the unincorporated areas of Burnet County for six years.
He picks through roadside trash looking for names and addresses that can lead him to the source. When he tracks down the owner of the rubbish, he usually discovers they are paying what he calls “fly-by-night” trash haulers.
“There’s a lot of these trash guys here in the county who’ll take their old beat-up truck and trailer and come pick up your trash for so much a month,” Kowalik said. “They are supposed to go to the transfer station in Burnet, or the dump in Hutto, but they go find a back road and shove all that stuff off the trailer on the side of the road. Then, it becomes the county’s problem.”
Burnet County doesn’t have a dump. Instead, trash is taken to the Waste Management Burnet County Transfer Station at 2411 FM 963, about 4 miles northeast of Burnet High School. From there, it is shipped to dump sites outside of the county.
The only other options in unincorporated areas are to haul it off yourself, burn it, or bury it following closely enforced regulations.
“If the city offers a trash service, you have to pay for it,” Kowalik said. “If it is not offered to you, then you can haul, burn, or bury it.”
Either way, hazardous waste must be handled differently, especially since many municipalities and local solid waste management companies do not pick up toxic trash.
“The (Lower Colorado River Authority) got us started with this in 2006,” Dockery said about the two trash collections. “We used to do them together, but we found we do best with the public if we break it up in two.”
Both are expensive events paid for with grants, sponsors, and some county money. Sponsors include the LCRA, all of the local city governments, the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District, Lehigh Hanson Inc., Goodwill Central Texas, Hill Country Recycling, and others.
HHW is the most expensive because the county hires outside companies with the training to properly handle hazardous materials such as paint, antifreeze, and fuel. Volunteers are always needed, however, to help defray costs.
“We need people who have the physical ability to offload products or people who can do the lighter work, like working the main gate and checking people in,” Dockery said. “We keep track of the number of cars coming in for our grant applications.”
To volunteer, call Dockery at 512-715-2911.
SAVE THESE DATES
And get your spring cleaning organized
BOPATE
WHEN: Saturday, April 20, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
WHERE: Burnet County Reuse and Recycle Center, 2411 FM 963 in Burnet about 2 miles east of U.S. 281
WHAT TO BRING:
- automobile tires, 24 inches or less, no rims (first 10 tires are free; $2 per tire after 10)
- lead-acid and rechargeable batteries
- used motor oil and oil filters
- latex paint (no oil-based paint)
- antifreeze
- scrap metal (no lawnmowers or appliances)
- small electronics
- TVs (no consoles)
DO NOT BRING:
- tires with rims
- containers larger than 5 gallons
- ANY chemicals or household hazardous waste
- medical and pharmaceutical items
- appliances
- console TVs
No commercial, business, or industrial waste accepted.
HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 19, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
WHERE: Burnet County Reuse and Recycle Center, 2411 FM 963 in Burnet about 2 miles east of U.S. 281
WHAT TO BRING:
- batteries, tires, TVs, scrap metal (same rules as BOPATE above)
- used motor oil and oil filters
- latex and oil-based paints
- antifreeze
- household chemicals and cleaners
- fluorescence lightbulbs
- gasoline/fuel
- small electronics
DO NOT BRING:
- tires with rims
- console TVs
- containers larger than 5 gallons
- medical and pharmaceutical items
- lawn mowers
- appliances
- trash or garbage
- mattresses
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Someone has dumped 3 or 4 tires in the ditch in my subdivision. What can I do?