FARMINGTON – Residents of the Franklin County/Livermore Falls area will be able to dispose of all of the paints, poisons and pesticides they have been accumulating around their homes on Saturday, Sept. 30.

There will be two collections: one in Jay and one in Wilton. The Jay collection will be at the Transfer Station on Route 2 from 8:30 through 11:30 a.m. The Wilton event will be at the Transfer Station on Munson Road from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Participating towns include Andover, Byron, Carthage, Dixfield, Hanover, Jay, Livermore, Livermore Falls, Mexico, Peru, Phillips, Rangeley, Roxbury, Rumford, Temple and Wilton.

Residents of the towns are asked to take their hazardous wastes in original containers, if possible. Leaking containers can be placed in plastic bags or cardboard boxes.

Residents are encouraged to obtain a voucher from their town office. The voucher will allow for the disposal of up to 10 gallons of liquid or 40 pounds of dry waste (or a combination of liquid and dry waste) at no cost.

If residents have more waste than that, they should contact the town office for more information. Otherwise, for residents from towns not listed above as participating, or not listed on the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments Web site, www.avcog.org, as a participating town, the cost is $26 for every five gallons of liquid waste or 20 pounds of dry waste (or a combination).

Wastes accepted include oil-based paints, varnishes, lacquers, paint thinners, pesticides, old gasoline and contaminated waste oil, old pool chemicals and almost anything that has the words “caution, warning, poison, corrosive, toxic, volatile, flammable or danger” on the label.

The collection will not accept latex paint, ammunition, explosives or smoke detectors. Residents can contact AVCOG at 783-9186 or visit www.avcog.org under household hazardous waste, information for residents.

Ferg Lea, an environmental engineer at AVCOG, said, “This is a great time for residents to get rid of those hazardous materials under their sinks and in their basements and garages. These materials pose a risk to kids playing, create a significant fire hazard and present a hazard to firefighters should there be a fire. In addition, they cause air and water pollution if not properly handled, and they create a risk to solid waste workers if thrown in the regular trash.”

The event is part of the Western Maine Environmental Depot Collection Program run by AVCOG in conjunction with the municipalities in the region and a private, qualified contractor. AVCOG’s Western Maine Environmental Depot is located in Lewiston and is open the first and third Saturdays of the month from April through November.