At 8:25 this morning, Mr. DiFabio from North Fort Myers was declared the 10,000th customer at Lee County’s Household Chemical Waste Drop Off Facility at 6441 Topaz Court in Fort Myers.

DiFabio was greeted by the Program Manager Tscherteu and the environmental staff of the Solid Waste Division.

DiFabio told division staff that he came to the facility to drop off a television set for his neighbor who was unable to do so himself. He was pleasantly surprised when he was given a goodie bag, donated by Storm Smart, and a $50 Publix gift card donated by Covanta Energy Inc.

Covanta Energy Inc. the county’s contracted operator of the Waste to Energy facility donated the $50 Publix gift card to the 10,000th customer and two $25 Publix gift cards for the runner-ups Mrs. Rodd and Mrs. Hosny.

Since April 2008 a total of 542,137 pounds household chemical waste have been brought to the facility. Of that amount 506,297 pounds were recycled. The 35,840 pounds that could not be recycled were sent to EPA and DEP approved disposal facilities.

In addition to household chemical waste generally categorized as Flammable, Poison, Corrosive, Reactive, and Oxidizer the facility also accepts obsolete electronic devices.