Sarasota County reopens Venice chemical collection center, expands hours and services

Sarasota County has reopened its Venice chemical collection center in a permanent 12,500-square-foot facility and expanded services to better handle household hazardous waste and small-business drop-offs, county hazardous-waste staff said on the Sarasota County Government podcast.

Brian Mangum, hazardous waste program supervisor for Sarasota County, said the Jackson Road tent site that served Venice before Hurricane Ian was replaced with the larger facility. "We're open Monday through Saturday; we open at 8 and we close at 4," Mangum said, adding the new center accepts a wider range of materials and can enroll small businesses in a commercial-account program called Project Green Sweep.

The facility takes paint, household cleaners, pesticides, herbicides, pool chemicals and rechargeable batteries that should not go in regular trash or down household drains, staff said. "Anything you see on the shelf, chemically solid or liquid that you'd use in your household for cleaning or any kind of upkeep, painting, can be brought to our facility for disposal," said Michael Roki, an environmental specialist.

Mangum described intake procedures: staff "fingerprint" incoming materials by chemical properties (poisons, corrosives, differing pH) and segregate items into proper shipping containers for transport to the county's contracted treatment, storage and disposal facilities. He warned that lithium batteries can swell and rupture as they age and recalled incidents where compacting batteries in collection trucks has led to fires.

The county also provided specifics about latex paint. Liquid latex paint brought to the center is consolidated and treated so it can be disposed in the landfill more efficiently, Mangum said. Staff add a small measure of an absorbent product they identified as "liquizorb," mix the paint briefly, and said a treated gallon solidifies within about 15 minutes and is reduced to roughly 2% solids for compaction. County staff said the practice reduces disposal costs.

Sarasota County operates three chemical collection centers: the Venice site at 250 South Jackson Road, a center at the central county disposal complex, and a north-county center at 8750B Ridge Road. The county also runs a Reuse It shop at one facility where residents may take up to 10 cleaned, reusable items per household; staff said repurposing usable materials avoids disposal costs and yields annual savings.

For residents who cannot travel to a center, county crews run mobile collection events coordinated with homeowners associations and a curbside program that operates roughly May through November in selected neighborhoods. Michael Roki said the county mails instructions and packaging materials to participating households a week before scheduled pickups.

For details on accepted items, hours and how to register businesses for Project Green Sweep, staff directed listeners to the county Solid Waste webpage at www.scgov.net and to call the county 311 service or visit a collection center to pick up a pamphlet.

Mangum closed by underscoring environmental and operational benefits: the centers divert hazardous materials from the landfill, reduce the risk of contaminated water, and extend the life of county landfills by keeping incompatible wastes out of regular disposal streams.

The podcast episode did not record any formal votes or policy decisions; it focused on public information and service details.