LEWISTON — Residents in Franklin County will be able to dispose of their toxic and hazardous wastes in early September at free one-day collections around the county.
On Friday, Sept. 10, a collection will be held at the Kingfield Transfer Station, from 8 a.m. to noon, for Kingfield, New Portland and Phillips residents. On Saturday, Sept. 11, there will be three collections in Carrabassett Valley, Rangeley and Wilton. The Carrabassett Valley collection will take place at the Carrabassett Valley Transfer Station from 9 a.m. to noon; Rangeley’s collection will be at the Rangeley Transfer Station, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., for residents from Rangeley and Phillips; Wilton’s collection will be held at the Wilton Transfer Station, 8 a.m. to noon, for residents of Wilton, Carthage, Chesterville, Farmington, Livermore and River Valley. River Valley towns include Rumford, Mexico, Andover, Byron, Canton, Dixfield, Hanover, Peru and Roxbury.
The final collection of the season for Franklin County will be held on Saturday, Sept. 18, at the Jay Recycling and Transfer Facility, from 9 a.m. to noon, for residents of Jay, Chesterville, Farmington, Livermore Falls and River Valley.
All events are part of the ongoing Western Maine Environmental Depot Collection Program run by AVCOG in conjunction with the municipalities in the AVCOG region and a private, qualified contractor.
There is no cost for participation by residents of any of the towns mentioned, although towns reserve the right to limit excessive quantities. Residents from other towns may participate by paying at the door. The cost is $27.50 per every five gallons of liquid waste or 20 pounds of dry waste or combination.
Last year, collections disposed of 5,000 gallons of hazardous petroleum products, oil-based paints, varnishes, lacquers, paint thinners, fertilizers, pesticides, old gasoline and pool chemicals. The collections are the safest and most environmentally sound method of disposing of household chemicals that have words such as “caution, warning, poison, corrosive, toxic, volatile, combustible, flammable or danger” on the label. Smoke detectors will also be accepted. The collections will not accept latex paint, ammunition or explosives.
For more information, contact AVCOG at 783-9186 or visit www.avcog.org.
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