(BIVN) – Two new Household Hazardous Waste collection events have been announced for Puna and South Kohala in early March.

The free events will be held from 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on the following dates and locations:

• Saturday, March 2, 2024 at the Spencer Kalani Schutte District Park in Waimea.
• Sunday, March 3, 2024 at the Pāhoa Recycling and Transfer Station.

Officials say these events are for household-generated and self-hauled waste only. Business, government agency, non-profit agency, or farm wastes are prohibited by law.

Two, unrelated commercial-use pesticide disposal events will be held in April.

The Hawaiʻi County Department of Environmental Management says acceptable household hazardous waste includes things like automotive fluids, used batteries, fluorescent bulbs, and pesticides.

Latex paint, electronic waste, and tires will not be accepted, officials say.

A complete list of acceptable or unacceptable items can be found at hawaiizerowaste.org.

The County says it holds these collection events, at no charge to the public, “so households can conveniently dispose of acceptable household hazardous waste in a manner that protects both public health and the environment.”

The Department of Environmental Management also provided these rules for the collection events:

• Remain in your vehicle unless directed by authorized personnel.
• Prior to arriving at the event, place your HHW items in your trunk or truck bed.
• Make sure your trunk can be unlocked or opened remotely. If you don’t have a trunk or truck bed, it is preferred that you place your materials in the unlocked and unoccupied backseat area.
• ALL containers brought to the event will not be returned and should be disposable. If you want to keep your container, transfer the material into a safe disposable container prior to the event.
• Please label your HHW items (if possible) and make sure that your HHW items are easily distinguishable and separate from anything else in your trunk or truck bed.
• If you are under quarantine, feeling ill or showing symptoms of illness, please consider postponing your participation in our event or designate someone else to drop off your materials.

“These rules are for your safety and the safety of the staff conducting these events,” officials said. “Please kōkua and thank you for doing your part to keep these events safe for all participants.”