A few months removed from the opening the annual Cass County Fair, the Cassopolis fairgrounds will be alive with a different sort of activity on Saturday.

The county is hosting its annual household hazardous waste and electronic recycling event at the fairgrounds from 9 a.m. to noon that day. County residents are encouraged to bring out any chemicals, aerosols, batteries or other unwanted materials out to the grounds that morning, where crews will safely and responsibility dispose or recycle any collected waste.

Organized by the Cass County Board of Commissioners and the Michigan State University Extension Office, the annual collection has been going for well over two decades, said County Commissioner and organizer Rober Ziliak.

“It’s an opportunity for residents to clean up and get rid of all their unwanted wastes from their homes, garages or workspace,” Ziliak said. “It’s better to have these products collected and processed the normal way rather than have them thrown away in a landfill, where they could contaminate the water or the atmosphere.”

Handling the disposal of the collected hazardous materials that morning will be crews with Drug and Laboratory Disposal based out of Plainwell, Michigan, Ziliak said.

Residents are allowed to dispose of 300 pounds hazardous waste for free that morning; any vehicle exceeding that limit will be charged a $1.50 per additional pound, the commissioner said.

Last year, the county collected nearly 9,000 pounds of worth waste from residents, with 190 vehicles stopping by the grounds that morning, Ziliak said.

“That’s quite a few vehicles stopping by in a short, three hour period,” he said. “For the workers out there, it really kept them hopping.”

This will be the sixth year that the county has collected old electronics during the disposal event, Ziliak said. Any item that is operated with a battery or can plugged into an outlet will be taken, though a charge between $5 to $20 is required for any CRT TVs or computer monitors, depending on the size of the device.

Crews will also be accepting the following items for disposal/recycling:

• Used tires, which will be sent to Dowagiac’s DearPath Recyclers.

• Old U.S. flags, which will be given a ceremonious disposal by members of the VFW.

• Used eyeglasses and hearing aids, which will be recycled by the Lions Club.

For additional information, contact the county 269-445-4420 or by visiting their website at casscountymi.org.