Town Seal 
Town of Brunswick

Universal Waste Information
Public Works Department
What is Universal Waste?
Universal waste is a hazardous waste that is widely generated by individuals, businesses, and hospitals...by almost anyone. Universal wastes are certain batteries, cathode ray tubes, certain lamps, mercury devices, mercury thermostats, motor vehicle mercury switches and polychlorinated biphenyl ballasts. Because these items are products, they have not traditionally been recognized for their hazards and have typically been thrown in the trash. These wastes contain hazardous constituents and would fail hazardous waste criteria if they were tested. For example most of these wastes contain heavy metals. These wastes when broken such as in a dumpster or landfill release the metals to the environment through fugitive emissions.
New State Universal Waste Regs for Residents
Effective January 1, 2005 the following items may not be placed by a resident in the trash or our landfill and will have to be brought to and processed separately as Universal Waste at the Graham Road Landfill:
  1. Rechargeable Batteries, including Nickel Cadmium, Metal Hydride, small sealed lead acid, Lithium, Mercuric Oxide, Zinc Air and Silver Oxide button batteries.
    Please note that alkaline batteries, most button batteries (excluding silver oxide and mercury oxide button batteries which are classified as Universal Waste) and car batteries are NOT considered universal waste. Car batteries are accepted separately at our landfill and alkaline and button batteries may be put in with the regular trash.
  2. Certain lamps containing mercury or lead, including the common fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent lights, high intensity discharge, neon, mercury vapor, high-pressure sodium, and metal halide bulbs.
  3. Mercury devices including mercury thermometers, sphygmomanometers, and non motor vehicle mercury switches.
  4. Mercury thermostats including temperature control devices, which contain mercury.
  5. Motor vehicle mercury switches, including hood and truck light switches and ABS switches.
  6. Totally enclosed non-leaking polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) ballasts.
  7. Cathode ray tubes, including video display components of televisions, computer monitors, and other display devices. (Became effective in 2006)

Please note that in January 2003 it became mandatory for industries, businesses, schools and municipalities to recycle all of the above items.
Brunswick's Universal Waste Program for Residents
Presently Public Works offers residents recycling for rechargeable batteries (Item 1 above) at drop-off boxes where a resident may place the batteries. The drop-off boxes are in several locations and are available at Town Hall, Graham Road Landfill, Public Works, Municipal Meeting Facility at 44 McKeen Street and the Curtis Memorial Library.

For fluorescent tubes (including compact fluorescent), CRT computer monitors and TV's (Items 2 and 7 above) a resident will need to bring these items to the Graham Road Landfill . Residents should bring their unbroken fluorescent lamps and computer monitors or TV's to the landfill and they will be collected separately at no charge and stored for recycling. Public Works has a Universal Waste Shed for storage of the lamps and which was provided to us through an MDEP grant. Once we have a sufficient volumes we will bring a commercial recycler to the site to collect them.

For Items 3 thru 6 above a resident needs to treat these items as Household Hazardous Waste and should plan to bring the item to either the spring or fall residential Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day offered for Brunswick residents.
 
This Page Maintained by the Town of Brunswick
Public Works Department

About E-Mail | Accessibility | ADA Notice | Privacy Policy

Last Updated: