Local Girl Scouts are raising awareness of the statewide Paint Care program while earning a new patch for taking action for a more sustainable future, according to Girls Scouts of Maine.

“We wanted to create an opportunity for the girls to be engaged in their environment,” Samantha Lott Hale of the Girl Scouts of Maine said. The new patch will provide an opportunity to combine community involvement and environmental stewardship, she said.

The program is open to Girl Scouts in kindergarten through grade 12.

Girl Scouts will not pick up cans but rather raise awareness of the Paint Care program through their churches, families and other venues, Lott Hale said. Some may create posters or tables at local fairs to help promote awareness of the program.

Girl Scouts of Maine and the Natural Resources Council of Maine unveiled the Sustainable Maine program last month.

The Paint Care program began in 2015, and many Mainers are not yet aware of the free paint recycling opportunity, Lott Hale said.

People may drop off paint at 94 locations across the state for free, regardless of when or where the paint was purchased. Aubuchon Hardware, 138 Main St., in Norway; the Oxford Transfer Station, 69 Smith Road; and Depot Square Hardware, 9 Depot Square, Mechanic Falls, are drop-off sites for paint cans no larger than five gallons. None of the sites accept aerosol cans, or cans that are empty, or leaking or not labeled.

The Oxford Transfer Station paint recycling program is open to any household regardless of whether you are a resident of the town, according to transfer station officials. It is not open to businesses. Other restrictions may apply at each site.

For information on the Paint Care program go to paintcare.org/drop-off-locations/.

ldixon@sunmediagroup.net

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