Here's What You Need to Know!
So you just bought the house of your dreams. Understandably, you’ve got a lot going on! As you walk through your new house for the first time, though, you discover a basement full of old paint, drawers full of old cleaning products, and a garage filled with unlabeled containers of… What even is that?
As agents, we are the experts in all things home-related, which means we know just who to call when our clients tell us about the “unknown discoveries” in their new home.
“About 2/3 of our phone calls are from people who are preparing to move, or have just moved. We definitely prefer to hear from people who call us before they move! As someone who just bought a house FULL of old paint, it can be overwhelming.” Neil Miller is the Communications and Outreach Coordinator at the Allen County Department of Environmental Management. “Our job is to help Allen County reduce its environmental footprint, which means we offer recycling where curbside isn’t offered, we give advice on living sustainable lives, and we aim to keep things out of the landfill. That includes your chemicals, paints, fertilizers, and even the gigantic, old, projection TV in your basement.”
According to Neil, hazardous waste, like cleaning products and the random jars of chemicals in your garage, shouldn’t be disposed of in traditional ways. “A lot of people think you just dump them down the drain or throw them in the bin, but these things really shouldn’t be put out into the environment. In a landfill, they can open, they can leak, or they can cause fires! Not good! Also, some things like TV’s, are actually illegal to put in a landfill. You can try to put it out at the curb, but it won’t go anywhere. The best thing you can do with anything like this is properly dispose of it at a facility who can manage it.” In Allen County, there is a facility for hazardous household waste and a facility that handles all forms of electronics, but according to Neil, every county should have some sort of disposal program set up. “We have counterparts all over Northeast Indiana, wherever you live, you have someone to help you dispose of your things properly. You just need to know who to call!”
Allen County Residents can learn more about electronics disposal, hazardous waste disposal, or figure out what to do with an old couch that was left behind by visiting acwastewatcher.org. Other county residents can visit indianahhw.org to find your local organization. And speaking of just knowing who to call, if you have any other house-related questions? Your agent is always just one call away.