On Saturday, August 1, twenty-four area communities will participate in one of the longest running and most successful household hazardous waste collection programs in New England.
On August 1, four collection sites – Bristol, Laconia, Moultonborough, and Ossipee – will be open from 8:30 AM to noon.
Residents and property owners in the 24 participating communities may bring up to 10 gallons or 50 pounds of household hazardous products in for safe disposal.
The participating communities for the collection consist of: Alexandria, Andover, Belmont, Bridgewater, Bristol, Center Harbor, Effingham, Franklin, Freedom, Gilford, Gilmanton, Hebron, Hill, Holderness, Laconia, Meredith, Moultonborough, New Hampton, Northfield, Ossipee, Sanbornton, Sandwich, Tamworth, and Tilton. Information on collection sites and accepted materials can be found at AndoverBeacon.com/LRPC_HHW or by calling 279-8171. Please note that latex paint is not considered a hazardous product.
It is never too early to start gathering waste for the collection; when opening up a summer camp, preparing to move to a new house, or just cleaning out the garage. This is a small but important step that everyone can do for their families and their community.
Common Problem, Simple Solution
Household Hazardous Waste is a common problem with a simple solution. “Hazardous wastes” are substances that poison or contaminate the environment; they may be flammable, corrosive, or reactive.
We often envision hazardous wastes coming out of factories, contaminating the surrounding soil and water. This sort of pollution does exist, though much has been done over the last several decades to clean this up.
However, there are many toxic materials which exist right inside many Lakes Region homes and should be disposed of properly so as not to harm people or damage the region’s soil and water resources. Look under your kitchen or bathroom sink, at the basement workbench, in the garage or garden shed – wherever you store cleaning products, home and vehicle maintenance items, or garden chemicals.
If a product label says “danger,” “warning,” “poison,” or “caution,” the product contains ingredients that are flammable, poisonous, will burn the skin and eyes, or react violently with other chemicals. These items, if disposed of improperly, are a very real threat to our natural environment. Municipal treatment plants and leachfields are incapable of processing these chemicals. Landfill disposal poses the same risks, and the result is the eventual contamination of our groundwater, upon which everyone is dependent.
The Lakes Region Planning Commission (LRPC) understands this problem and in 1986 pioneered a regional program to prevent injury and environmental pollution from household hazardous waste. Every year since then, the LRPC has coordinated annual household hazardous waste collections for communities throughout the region interested in participating in the shared collection program. This program employs a US Environmental Protection Agency-approved waste transporter which collects and safely disposes of household hazardous waste.