The city and Veolia North America are hosting another household hazardous waste collection event on Sept. 19.

From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., residents can bring in antifreeze, gasoline, lighter fluid, paint thinner, road flares, shellac, fertilizer, pesticides, furniture polish, insect spray, cleaners, disinfectants, hair remover, nail polish and more for disposal to 112 1st St. S, just south of the Great Falls Police Department.

Latex-based paint and mercury products will not be accepted.

City, Veolia hosting another household hazardous waste collection event

For questions about latex-based paint products, contact the environmental division at 406-727-8390.

Veolia is the city’s contracted wastewater plant operator.

The event’s goal is to “ensure the safe and compliant management and disposal of household hazardous waste,” according to the city.

The event is only for city residents and materials from commercial businesses or non-city residents will not be accepted.

The event operates under a limited budget and once those funds are exhausted, additional waste
cannot be accepted. Residents are strongly encouraged to arrive early.

The last collection event was in April.

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In the spring, Nathan Besich, environmental division manager for city public works, said that this year’s budget is $50,000, funded by sewer and storm drain funds.

The city pays Veolia for collection, transport and disposal services.

Besich said the events have always operated on a limited budget and “we work hard to strike the right balance between the number of events we hold and the hours we can remain open.”

In past years, they’ve had to occasionally turn people away near the end of the event when the funding limit was reached.

City completes wastewater improvement plant upgrades [2025]

He said in April that the city wanted participants to be aware that people may be turned away since previous events were “extremely successful,” and collected and disposed of about 500 gallons of flammable liquids, several lead-acid batteries, refrigerant cylinders, propane cylinders and more.

City, Veolia hosting hazardous waste collection event [2024]

Disposal costs vary depending on the type and quantity of waste collected, Besich said, and the April budget was the same as the August 2025 event.

“We are actively evaluating options to ensure these events remain cost‑effective while continuing to provide value to our residents,” Besich said in April.

The city and Veolia launched the collection event in April 2023 to prevent the materials from being dumped in the city’s wastewater treatment system or local waterbodies, according to the city.

Some of the items collected include:

• 330 gallons of flammable pesticide liquids
• 500 gallons of high BTU blendable liquids
• 16 cubic yards of paint-related material
• 55 gallons of organic and inorganic acids
• 20 units of lithium-ion batteries

City, Veolia collected truck load of hazardous waste at collection event [2023]

Based on the popularity of the first event, they held another that fall, during which they collected:

• 1,500 gallons of flammable liquids
• 2,000 pounds of oil-based household paint
• 120 pounds of corrosive liquids and more