On Saturday, August 6, 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 6, 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 (which include Andover) may bring up to 10 gallons or 50 pounds of household hazardous products in for safe disposal.

Information on collection sites and accepted materials can be found at LakesRPC.org/ServicesHHW.asp or by contacting DJeffers@nullLakesRPC.org. 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.

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.