HANGING ROCK — The numbers are down from last year, but that doesn’t mean the Lawrence-Scioto County Solid Waste Management District’s eighth annual Household Hazardous Waste Event wasn’t just as successful as in past years.

“I’m still pleased,” Dan Palmer, LSCSWMD director, said. “We’ve seen about 180 cars come through today and it’s great to see people are still taking advantage of this free event.”

The event has maintained its popularity over the past few years. In 2011, Palmer said, 322 vehicles drove through, which is an average of 80 per hour, and in 2012, an average of 55 per hour. Last year 270 vehicles made their way through.

Cars were in line to dispose of hazardous waste at Dow Chemical an hour before the event began. It’s not uncommon, Palmer said, for cars to line up prior to the start of the event where people can also dispose of unwanted or unneeded prescription medication.

“We always collect a lot of paint,” Palmer said. “But I am amazed at the amount of pills collected today. We may have had fewer cars but we have gotten lots of pills.”

For those who didn’t make it to the event and need to throw away unwanted or unneeded pharmaceuticals, a drug drop box is located in the lobby of the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office year round.

It takes a lot of volunteers from Dow, Veolia Environmental Services and the LSCSWMD to orchestrate such a well-run event.

“I am separating paint, pesticides, herbicides, oil and antifreeze,” Jerry Tillman, of Veolia, said. “This is an important event.”

All items are disposed of per Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

“At least we are getting people to do the right thing,” Palmer said. “I wonder where all these items were going before we offered free disposal.”

Records taken on-site showed people from all parts of Lawrence and Scioto counties took advantage of the disposal, which takes place the last Saturday in September annually.