PARIS – Residents from the towns of Norway, Paris, Hartford, Otisfield, Stoneham, Waterford and West Paris brought their household hazardous wastes to the Norway-Paris Solid Waste Facility for disposal on Aug. 15.

The collection was held as part of the Western Maine Environmental Depot program operated by Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments. It was sponsored by Norway-Paris Solid Waste with assistance from Oxford County Recycling. An the annual event for the past seven years, the collection was one of the largest, serving 145 vehicles and handling 1,345 gallons of waste.

The gates opened at 8:30 a.m. to a line of people waiting, and a nonstop stream of participants continued until closing at 11:30 a.m. Wastes brought included pesticides and herbicides, old gasoline, paint thinners and other solvents, household cleaners and old oil-based paint. Information on less toxic substitutes was distributed by Responsible Pet Care volunteers, who also handed out ice cream treats to participants.

Six regional waste collections are scheduled in September: Kingfield, Friday, Sept. 11; Carrabassett Valley, Rangeley and Wilton, Saturday, Sept. 12; Jay, Saturday, Sept. 19; and Bethel, Saturday, Sept. 26. Banned or unusable pesticides and fertilizers will be accepted. Visit www.thinkfirstspraylast.org for more information.

Residents from towns participating in AVCOG’s Environmental Depot program can bring their materials to any of the collections or to the Environmental Depot located at the Lewiston Solid Waste Facility, 424 River Road, from 8 a.m. to noon on the first and third Saturday mornings of each month May through November (excluding holiday weekends).

Residents having hazardous wastes around the house can call Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments for more information at 783-9186, or visit http://www.avcog.org/.


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