The line of cars at Warren Central High School stretched from the guard shack back to U.S. 80 as Warren County and Vicksburg residents queued up to dispose of hazardous materials, old tires, appliances and other items at Warren County’s annual Household Hazardous Waste Day.

“So far, so good,” said program coordinator, and county employee Larry Flowers. “We’re getting a lot of stuff we won’t be seeing in the roads and have to pickup.

“We started at 8 (a.m.), but the cars were lining up at about 7:30.”

Hosted by the Warren County Board of Supervisors and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, the hazardous waste collection day is in its 18th year. The program provided residents an opportunity to dispose of old paint and other household materials, including old motor oil, old metal frames and equipment, computers, television sets and old furniture.

The vehicles ran a course through the WCHS parking lot, stopping at different stations to dispose of items, and long lines of trucks and cars continuously formed by the station for paint and hazardous materials and by the computer station. At the station collecting appliances, workers used a boom to lift the heavy items like refrigerators and stoves out of the beds of pickups.

“We have about five or six individual (companies) here collection materials,” Flowers said. “Waste Management is here with their truck to collect old furniture, we’re taking old white goods (appliances). That means we won’t be pulling them out of gullies and ravines when someone finds them there. If you have old papers, we have someone who will shred them.”

He said the response from residents has been very good.

“They tell us they’re glad to have some place to take their old paint cans that have been laying around and have the opportunity to get rid of them.”

The used appliances, he said would be taken to Keys recycling, while the tires would be taken to Jackson for recycling. “We’ll even take old car batteries for recycling,” he said.

Besides the recycling companies, River City Rescue Mission had a truck at the high school that was quickly filling up with clothes, working TVs and appliances, toys and other items, including a basketball goal and backboard.

“I’ve been through all 18 of these, and each year they get better,” Flowers said.