We bought the helium tanks to blow up balloons for a children's party.
I called the household hazardous waste line three times but got no call back in three days.
The Navy has not been able to tell me how to dispose of them either. We live in a Navy housing area and there are a lot of these canisters around. The city refuse collection will pick them up but they cannot come on to Navy property so that is not a solution for military families.
I'm getting a little frustrated. The helium tanks are empty and I'd like to do the right thing but I'm really tempted to just toss them. I know that's wrong. I'd be happy to take them somewhere but nobody seems able to tell me where. Even the people at Kmart Salt Lake, where I bought them, said they didn't know what people should do with the empties. Can you help?
ANSWER: Yes. Please take the empty helium tanks back to Kmart. As a service to customers, the company now has decided to accept the empties, said Sherry Gonzales, operations manager at Salt Lake.
The city Division of Refuse Collection and Disposal will accept empty helium tanks as well as empty propane tanks from residents who do not live on military property.
But David Shiraishi, refuse collection administrator, asks that you not put the empties into your regular garbage bins or bags. Instead call the refuse collection division for your area (see page 4, third column, Honolulu government section in the white pages phone book) and you will be given instructions on where to place your empties and when they will be picked up and recycled for the metal.
Do NOT call bulky refuse collection for your empty helium tanks. There's no need to send one of the big trucks from bulky collections with a three-member crew to pick up empty helium tanks.
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