Second of Two Parts: A Deeper Dive into Household Hazardous Waste Performance
Kalamazoo County analyzes demographics of underserved households: median income is a driver, distance is not. Last month (Waste Advantage, October 2026), we looked into the performance of the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County, WA, serving 2.3 million residents with a population density of nearly 1,000 people per square mile. King County is a typical urban area comprised of a few high-density anchor cities with suburban and rural regions in outlying areas. Significant gaps were found between the demographics of households in the vicinity of each of their permanent HHW collection facilities compared to the demographics of households actually using the HHW facility from the same vicinity. For those interested in a high-density service area HHW collection performance, San Franciso has a population density of 18,000 residents per square mile and was reviewed in a January 2022 Waste Advantage Magazine article.
Kalamazoo County, MI · 2d
