Mansfield joins Dallas County, Fort Worth, Plano, Lewisville and Frisco in offering a household hazardous waste collection site. Courtesy of city of Mansfield.

Dec. 14, 2015

In November, the city of Mansfield joined a growing number of North Texas cities making it easier for residents to dispose of household hazardous waste when the city debuted its new Environmental Collection Center as part of its annual Fall Beautification Day.

“We added this as a convenience for our residents and to increase the amount of material properly disposed,” said Howard Redfearn, city of Mansfield, Environmental Manager.

Mansfield is one of several municipalities to offer a designated Environmental Collection Center in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including Dallas County, Fort Worth, Plano, Lewisville and Frisco

Redfearn said that the city of Mansfield patterned its new program mostly off of Fort Worth, though the Fort Worth facility has a drive through.

“Our residents have been requesting a drop off facility of their own since I started here 10 years ago,” he said. “The construction of a joint service center housing our utilities, and streets and building maintenance departments provided the opportunity to construct the facility on that property.”  

Residents are encouraged to drop off household hazardous waste such as paint, automobile oil, fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, pharmaceuticals, pool chemicals and household cleaners. They can also dispose of electronic waste, including computers, printers, TVs and cell phones. (For a complete list of accepted and unaccepted items, visit the Mansfield ECC web page.) 

“Many of these products are harmful if released out into the environment,” Redfearn said. “Further, some products can deteriorate sanitary sewer lines, or cause sanitary sewer line blockages. Additionally, electronics contain many rare earth substances or precious metals that can be recovered for reuse through proper recovery processes.”

There are a variety of ways that the city disposes of the items, depending on the product. 

“We have identified recycling vendors for as many of the products as possible,” he said. “Other products are blended to be used as industrial fuels. Landfilling is the last resort and the rules related to prohibited items are for a standard municipal landfill. There are special landfills that may receive hazardous products and then there are other landfills that may only receive construction and demolition wastes.”

In addition, some of the items are passed on free of charge through its Reuse Store, where residents can pick up leftover paint, cleaners and other chemicals brought to the center in like-new condition.  

​The city of Mansfield’s Environmental Collection Center is located at 620 S. Wisteria St. at the Mansfield Service Center. It is open the second Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Proof of residency is required to drop off materials. Contractors and businesses are not allowed to bring items to this drop off center. There is also a drop box in the lobby of the Public Safety Building, 1305 E. Broad St. that is available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

In the spring, the city of Mansfield holds a second Beautification Day when residents can bring in their old, bulky items that are too large to set out for regular curbside pickup such as washers, dryers, mattresses, box springs, couches, furniture as well as scrap metal and car batteries, cooking oil, tree limbs/brush and tires.

For more information, visit the Mansfield ECC web page


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