Explosives to be Accepted at Two Household Hazardous Waste Collections

Ammunition, fireworks and other explosives will now be accepted along with a host of other materials at three upcoming household hazardous waste collection days, according to Regional Waste Systems, Inc. (RWS), the organizer of the free service for area residents.

A new addition to the collection program, the explosive collection will be held at the same time as the regular collections of such materials as paint thinners, old batteries and weed killers.

Residents will be able to dispose of explosives beginning this weekend (Aug. 14) in Standish at the Standish Transfer Station on Moody Road, off Route 35. Also, explosives will be collected Aug. 28 in Portland in the city parking lot at the corner of Marginal Way and Preble Street extension, and Sept. 25 in Freeport at the Freeport Transfer Station on Landfill Road. All collections will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Residents in any of the towns served by RWS may attend any collection.

So far, 13 collections have been held in towns throughout southern Maine. The collections are part of a comprehensive program by RWS in the 31 communities it serves to safely remove such materials from their waste stream. Those communities are: Baldwin, Bridgton, Cape Elizabeth, Casco, Cumberland, Durham, Falmouth, Freeport, Gorham, Gray, Harrison, Hiram, Hollis, Limington, Lyman, Naples, North Yarmouth, Ogunquit, Parsonsfield, Phippsburg, Porter, Portland, Pownal, Scarborough, Sebago, South Portland, Standish, Waterboro, Westbrook, Windham and Yarmouth. A schedule of collection days is attached and is posted on the RWS web site, www.regionalwaste.com.

New England Chemical and Explosive Disposal, Inc., of Winthrop, has been contracted by RWS to collect and dispose of the explosive materials, which could include everything from flares to live or expired bullets and shotgun shells.

Residents who would like to dispose of commercial or military explosives are asked to contact Tim Culbert, owner of New England Chemical and Explosive Disposal, directly at
377-4899 or via the company's web site, www.chemdisposal.com.

Household hazardous waste is any material in the home with at least one of the following
characteristics: ignitable, corrosive, toxic or reactive. Products and materials classified as hazardous waste, contained in almost all homes, should not be disposed of with other trash.

Residents are asked to pack their household hazardous waste in boxes, no plastic bags, and bring the material to the collection site. The collections, a free service, are set up as a drive- thru so residents will not need to leave their vehicles.

Clean Harbors, an environmental services company with offices in South Portland, is
handling the household hazardous waste collection effort for RWS. For schedule information, residents may call 1-800-805-8391.

Regional Waste Systems, Inc. is a non-profit solid waste management company that serves 21 owner communities and also serves 10 associate members in southern Maine. It is governed by a 28-member board and is owned and controlled by its member municipalities. The waste transported to the facility located on outer Congress Street in Portland is incinerated to create electricity, which is then sold to Central Maine Power. RWS also has an extensive recycling program, with more than 85 drop off recycling containers set up in more than 60 locations, the largest municipal program in the state.

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