DEAR SUN SPOTS: Recently, I was cleaning out my medicine cabinet and came across several of the old type fever thermometers, the kind that are glass with mercury inside. I no longer need them, but am not sure how to safely dispose of them. I don’t want to just toss them in the waste, as that means mercury going to the Auburn incinerator. Where can I dispose of them? — Cam Churchill, Auburn

ANSWER: Sun Spots apologizes to her readers for her previous incorrect answer on Monday to this question, where she confused the thermometer site with the one for thermostats. Here is what www.maine.gov has to say on mercury-containing waste.

“In Maine, state and local hazardous and solid waste professionals are working to create waste management systems that will make it convenient to recycle your mercury-added products. This effort includes changes in hazardous waste regulations to create streamlined handling requirements for universal wastes to make it easier for businesses to recycle their mercury-added products such as fluorescent lamps and mercury switches.

“Maine is also awarding grants to municipalities for sheds to store mercury-added products from households. See which towns are setting up collection sheds. If your community is not in the service area for one of these collection sheds, you may be able to bring your mercury-contaminated wastes to a household hazardous waste collection day. You can also call your local solid waste facility to find out if they have any plans for collecting household hazardous waste.

“Some hospitals and businesses in Maine are planning special collections for mercury fever thermometers. … Also, some wastewater treatment districts hold special collection events for mercury-added products to try to reduce the amount of mercury in wastewater.”

So check with your town’s transfer station first and see if they will take mercury-containing products such as thermometers. (Auburn takes them at the Public Works garage at 296 Gracelawn Road.) If your town doesn’t offer that service, any Maine resident can use the Maine Environmental Depot (www.envdepot.com), run by the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, but if their town is not participating they must pay a fee. The depot is located within the Lewiston Solid Waste facility at 424 River Road in Lewiston. It is open the first and third Saturdays of each month from May through November. Hours are from 8 a.m. to noon. If the Saturday falls on a holiday weekend, it will be closed.

At
www.maine.gov/dep/rwm/hazardouswaste/uwmunicipalmaster.xls there is a list of waste collection centers and what they take.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Regarding Maine’s mercury rebate offer (note: thermostats, not thermometers) in Monday’s column, please let your readers know if they use the Maine.gov Web site and call the number on the site, there may be a long wait for any rebate. We mailed our old thermostat in in February of this year and still have not received anything. We called the toll-free number in July and were told there was a backlog of requests, and the rebate should be in the mail in six weeks or so. We are still waiting.

Also, the recycling center (Thermostat Recycling Corporation, 1-800-238-8192) is located in Golden Valley, Minn., and when I called the person asked me which state I lived in. This makes me wonder if there are a lot of states using this same company, which may explain the huge backlog. — J.M., Sabattus

DEAR SUN SPOTS: On Saturday night, Oct. 17, Fast Breaks, 1465 Lisbon St. in Lewiston (next door to Tire Warehouse), 782-3305, will be hosting a Breast Cancer Awareness Night, starting at 7 p.m. This free event features Exposed Clothing and entertainment by The Matt Fournier Project with special guest Pete Richard on saxophone. Fifteen percent of the proceeds will go to help in the fight against breast cancer. — Matthew, Auburn

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