How To Safely Dispose Of Hazardous Waste In Kent County, Michigan

I'll just start this out by saying this - you can't just leave your cannonball wherever you want.

A bomb squad had to be called to a Kent County Waste Management facility on April 23 after someone dropped off a cannonball.

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In a release, it's stated that officials believe that the cannonball dates all the way back to the Civil War. (Which makes sense - I don't know that a lot of cannonballs are manufactured these days.)

Upon discovering the cannonball, the Kent County Department of Public Works immediately called the Grand Rapids Police Department, who deployed their bomb squad to the facility on Wealthy Street.

They also immediately evacuated the building out of caution.

The GRPD bomb squad, along with officers from the Michigan State Police, examined the cannonball, but were unable to figure out if the cannonball was explosive or not.

You Can Not Dispose of Ammunition or Explosives at Kent County Waste Facilities

In case you were wondering, you can't just drop of explosives (or potential explosives) at Kent County waste facilities. In fact, Deputy Chief Mike Maycroft of the GRPD said in a release,

To safely dispose of any military ordnance, contact your local police department or the Kent County Sheriff’s Office. Don’t put it in recycling, drop it off at a second-hand store or throw it away. Don’t assume just because it’s old, it is inactive. - Deputy Chief Mike Maycroft, GRPD

In the end, Maycroft said that they will do further testing on the cannonball and hopefully make it safe so that they can "preserve this piece of history."

How to Dispose of Hazardous Materials in Kent County, Michigan

If you have hazardous materials that you need to dispose of, Kent County does have ways for you to do that safely and for free. You can take anything that is toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive to Kent County's SafeChem drop-off sites.