Sawyer County schedules Sept. 16 clean sweep with medication, sharps and electronics collections

University of Wisconsin Extension staff told the Sawyer County Board that the county’s annual hazardous-waste “clean sweep” will be held Tuesday, Sept. 16, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the fairgrounds and will include medication and sharps collection in partnership with the Health and Human Services Department.

The Extension representative said the event will also include an electronics recycling vendor (identified in meeting materials as Dynamics) providing at least one free electronics collection this year that will accept televisions, computers, laptops, tablets and printers. The hazardous-waste portion will accept oil-based paints, household chemicals and certain personal-care products; some items such as fluorescent bulbs and certain batteries will carry a small fee, the representative said.

The Extension representative noted the county previously held two clean sweep events but now runs a single, larger event (typically in Hayward). Last year the program served about 220 cars; the representative said typical turnout ranges from about 200 to 230 cars. Health and Human Services will help staff and coordinate the medication and sharps collection, and that service will be at a separate booth at the event.

Meeting materials included an itemized list of accepted electronic and hazardous items and indicated the electronics vendor received a grant to provide the free collections to Sawyer County residents. The Extension representative said the county hopes the fall event will be successful and help plan a spring electronics collection.

Less-critical logistical details, such as the full item list and any per-item charges, appear in the packet distributed to board members.