Pullout Box:

Upcoming or ongoing household hazardous waste collections:

• From 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, at Norway-Paris Solid Waste, 39 Brown St. in Norway for residents of Albany Township, Buckfield, Hartford, Norway, Otisfield, Paris, Sumner, Waterford and West Paris.

• From 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 27, at the SAD 44 bus barn on the corner of Main and Cross streets in Bethel for residents of Bethel, Greenwood, Hanover, Newry and Woodstock.

• On the first and third Saturdays from April through November at the public works depot in Lewiston-Auburn.

Residents from other towns may participate, but might be charged disposal costs, which could be reimbursed by towns that cover such fees.

FMI: Fergus Lea of the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments in Auburn at 783-9186 or flea@avcog.org.

MEXICO - A strong odor of chemicals permeated the work space of Brett Rogers in the Region 9 School of Applied Technology parking lot Saturday during the annual household hazardous waste collection.

Piles of aged cans and bottles containing dangerous chemicals lined a table at which the Orrs Island man stood, sorting through them while Amanda Hennessey of Lewiston and Lisa Hanna of Auburn removed them from lines of idling vehicles.

Janet Pelletier of the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments in Auburn doled out advice about proper disposal methods of materials such as latex paint, which was not accepted.

"Dry your latex paint with cat litter, sawdust or newspapers and, once it's dry, throw it in the trash," she said.

Standing beside Pelletier was Patty Duguay of the River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition, the agency that secured a grant to conduct the collection.

"We're trying to discourage people from bringing in latex paint, because it's nonhazardous and they can dry it out, then get rid of it on their own," Duguay said. "However, if it's latex paint that is 20 years old or more, it has lead in it and should be brought in and, some latex contains mercury. So, the old stuff, we want it."

Asbestos, however, they didn't want.

One driver, who brought in two garbage bags full of asbestos shingles, was turned away after being advised of locations that handle it.

During the three-hour operation, drivers in 60 cars from Andover, Byron, Dixfield, Mexico, Peru, Roxbury and Rumford dropped off a total of 535 gallons of hazardous waste products.

It fell short of Duguay's goal of 800 gallons, based on past collections.

The bulk of Saturday's haul included pesticides, pet-care products, motor oils, gasoline, oil-based paint and furniture refinishing products, Hanna said. "Generally, we get paint, but this time it's pesticides and, there were larger loads than normal coming through."

The effort is a collaboration of the River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and former Rumford paper mill owner MeadWestvaco.