A well-oiled machine

A few words here on our local household hazardous waste collection event that is held periodically (annually??) in the immense parking lot at Gulf Greyhound Park, just so that you'll know what to expect if you ever decide to get rid of some of your nasty stuff there.

The Gulf Greyhound sign this morning, as seen beneath a beautiful mackerel sky inspired by yesterday evening's cold front, our first strong front of the season.

It's a very easy and quick process.  You drive into the main Gulf Greyhound entrance off FM 1764 and follow the volunteers' traffic directions.  They did a short questionnaire this morning, gathering statistics on what people were dropping off.  Then they had a line with a series of drop-off stations for appliances, e-waste, and toxic chemicals and petroleum products.

I had to drop off used automotive fluids that came out of an antique car my husband is restoring.  If you carry this stuff in your hatchback or trunk, it's a good idea to use some structure for secondary containment, just in case there are any drips or tip-overs.  Here I used a few empty plastic storage bins. 

This was the fluids collection area at Gulf Greyhound.  Good thing those guys were wearing Tyvek suits, because it was cold out, and I know from personal experience that nothing cuts the wind quite like Tyvek. 

They actually emptied my gas cans and gave them back to me, and so while I was waiting, I snapped a few pics of this truck in action as it was dropping off an empty waste bin. 

Up, up and away...

They don't call these things "roll-offs" for nothing.

At the entrance, they also handed out some general waste info, including a hard copy of a Houston Galveston Area Council brochure that looks like this:

Houston's own take on Rosie the Riveter.  No surprise that they're aiming the public outreach at women, eh?  Did you notice how I said my husband is restoring the antique car yet I (the wife) ended up being the one who delivered the wastes to Gulf Greyhound? 

We Can Do It... we can convince our husbands to clean up their garages... in theory.  But not always in practice.  Some of it we have to do ourselves.  Rosie screengrab from Wikipedia.   

Anyway, that's all there is to it.  It took me about 10 minutes from start of the line to finish.  No complexity to the process and no names were taken.  Just very efficient, like a well-oiled machine, literally and figuratively.  A well used-oiled machine to the tune of thousands of gallons, from the look of it.