Appointments to drop off household hazardous waste Saturday at the Rivian auto plant in Normal are running below what organizers hoped would come in.
Two years ago the waste collection event attracted about 2,000 households. Michael Brown of the Ecology Action Center said as of Thursday evening fewer than 1,200 had signed up for appointments on Saturday.
Brown is looking on the bright side.
"It makes it more manageable in terms of traffic. Hopefully we will still eventually serve the same number of households. We are still encouraging people to carpool their household hazardous waste," said Brown.
If you wanted to drop off your waste for disposal Saturday morning at the Rivian plant, you are out of luck. Brown said those appointments are booked.
"We are currently full until about eleven o'clock. But we still have plenty of appointments for early afternoon. So I would encourage people to call and book an appointment," said Brown.
Area residents can also go to the Ecology Action Center website to make an appointment: ecologyactioncenter.org/hhw
Brown said registration for appointments to drop off waste continues through midday Friday.
This is the first year the EAC has used registration scheduling software to limit traffic jams. Brown said that might explain part of the difference in potential attendance from last year. He also said it's possible the model of periodic collection of waste might not be sustainable over the long term and the area should work to create a permanent facility for drop off and disposal of household hazardous waste.
He also said fundraising to help pay for disposal is lagging. He also said people often contribute when they drop off waste.
The Ecology Action Center had hoped for $35,000 from the community to supplement governmental contributions. So far $7,000 has come in online with a total tally of $15,000.
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