Hazardous waste collection day set

BANGOR – Unused items with the words caution, poison, toxic, flammable, pesticide, warning, combustible, and danger printed on them are exactly what officials want residents to bring to the annual Hazardous Waste Collection Day on Oct. 7 in Bangor.

Residents from several of the 25 communities involved in the collection day, including those from Bangor and Brewer, can participate for free, but they must sign up first, community officials are saying.

“They need to bring in a list of liquids they will be bringing [to the collection] and the quantity,” Sandee Barber, Brewer Public Works office administrator, said Tuesday. “It’s a maximum of 15 gallons per household. If they get their [Residential Household Hazardous Waste Product Permit] before the event and take their permit to the event, it’s free.

“No permit: They pay,” she said.

The fee to dispose of hazardous items without a permit is $10. Proof of residence will be required when requesting permits.

The event also is open to residents of Bradley, Carmel, Clifton, Dixmont, Eddington, Etna, Frankfort, Glenburn, Hampden, Hermon, Holden, Kenduskeag, Levant, Milford, Newburgh, Old Town, Orono, Orrington, Penobscot Nation, Stetson, Stockton Springs, Veazie and Winterport.

All participating residents are being asked to pre-register for the event, which is being held 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 7 at Bangor Public Works Department, 530 Maine Ave.

Bangor residents have until noon Oct. 6 to get permits from City Hall or the public works department.

Brewer residents can get permits at the Brewer Public Works Department, 221 Green Point Road, during normal business hours until 3 p.m. Oct. 4.

Residents of the other participating communities should contact their town office to get permit details and pay fees, if applicable.

In years past, the State Planning Office has paid a portion of the costs to dispose of the hazardous waste, but this year the burden will be handled by each participating community.

“We are using a per-car figure,” Jerry Hughes, Bangor Public Works training officer, said Tuesday. “We will track the number of cars” from each community.

For each car that passes through the gate, the resident’s community will pay $65 to $70, he said. During Bangor’s spring cleanup this year, the city accepted computers and TVs and filled four tractor-trailers, so Hughes is optimistic that the number of electronics brought to the hazardous waste cleanup day will be reduced.

“Hopefully, we put a dent in that,” he said.

Veolia Environmental Service of Stoughton, Mass., will break down and recycle the computer and electronic components during the collection day.

Items that can be disposed of range from oil-based paint and used motor oil to fluorescent lamps and rat poison.

A complete list of items that can be disposed of is available at Brewer’s Web site, www.brewerme.org and will be listed on Bangor’s Web site, www.bangormaine.gov by the end of the week.