Venus Martin approaches the check-out counter at Sedgwick County’s Swap & Shop with gallons of paint and wood finishing chemicals on her cart. She has 10 cans in total.
“So, since you got your 10, the first of the next calendar month is when you can come and pick up 10 more,” the cashier tells her, then asks for Martin's ID.
He charges her nothing.
On this July morning, Martin is picking up materials she needs to stain her fence. Each item – just like all the others at the shop – is free. Martin said she’s been frequenting the store for at least 15 years, saving hundreds of dollars in the process.
“I'm not kidding, I came in here one year – we didn't have any hardly any money – and I got all the paint for my house,” Martin said. “I found, managed to find, the same colors. It's a hit and miss thing, but they've got a lot of stuff.”
The Swap & Shop opened in 2002, and it doesn’t just save customers money. It’s saved Sedgwick County taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, too.
That’s because the county doesn’t have to pay a hazardous waste contractor to safely dispose of household chemicals that go to the shop instead.
“We have saved – in the last five years – well over $200,000 in not having to pay disposal fees to our contractor for the material the public picks up for free,” said Susan Erlenwein, the county’s director of environmental resources. “And last year, it was actually over $80,000.”
Here’s how it works: The county is responsible for collecting household hazardous waste – think paints, fertilizers or oil solvents languishing in the garage or “under the kitchen sink” items like cleaning supplies. People often get rid of these items when moving, since moving trucks often won’t transport hazardous materials, or after a relative passes away.
When residents drop the items off at the county’s Household Hazardous Waste Facility, near McCormick and Seneca, staff separate out usable chemicals with readable labels to put in the Swap & Shop. The shop is inside the Hazardous Waste Facility.
All sorts of people rely on the shop, Erlenwein said. Teachers come in to pick up paint for school projects. Landlords can find semi-gloss or buckets of white paint for homes needing a refresh.
On one recent morning, Bryan Morse was looking at pool chemicals for his backyard, as well as a can of a rust-prevention solvent.
“Just that can right there's a good little score,” Morse said, pointing to it. “I mean, I bet you that’s 20 bucks, 30 bucks, a can.”
Residents can take up to 10 items from the shop each month and aren’t required to donate any of their own household hazardous waste in return. Erlenwein said if they do have chemicals to donate, the county has strict rules on what can and cannot be accepted – for good reason.
“We've had one gentleman come in with a container and held it up and said, ‘Will you take this?’” Erlenwein said. “We asked, ‘What's in it?’ It was his tonsils. It's like — I don't know why anyone would want to keep them.
“But no, we don't take body parts. And that's not the only body part offered to us.”
She said residents have tried to drop off everything from marijuana to ammunition to grenades.
“Usually two or three times a year, we have to call the bomb squad out here,” Erlenwein said.
The Swap & Shop served about 11,000 customers in 2023, a nearly 5,000% increase since its opening. It’s grown so much that the county now has a $2 million plan to expand the Household Hazardous Waste Facility, where the shop is located.
Erlenwein said the shop's footprint is expected to triple in size with the expansion. She hopes to add a corner with a television and books to keep kids occupied while their parents shop.
Erlenwein said the store’s growth is exciting – not just because of the money it saves, but the bigger impact it has on the natural world.
“The whole purpose of this is to properly dispose of hazardous chemicals, not throw it in the trash,” Erlenwein said. “Don't put it down the toilet. Don't put it out in the storm drain area where (it will) run off and into a river. It’s to protect the environment.”
"If you have something leftover, don't throw it away. Bring it here if it's a chemical," Erlenwein added.
The Swap & Shop can be found at 801 Stillwell. Visit Sedgwick County’s website to read about its hours and the types of items it will accept. Proof of Sedgwick County residency is required at the Swap & Shop.
