Hazardous waste collection to take place at fire station

Date: 8/30/2011

Aug. 29, 2011

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

EAST LONGMEADOW — The regional collection of household hazardous waste recycling is quickly approaching.

Residents of the towns of East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Wilbraham, Hampden and Ludlow will have the opportunity to dispose of hazardous materials they have been hanging onto because they cannot just be taken out with the trash on Sept. 10 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot of the East Longmeadow Fire Station.

“This has been a great collaboration over the past several years that provides a great service to the towns and the environment,” Arlene Miller, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s Regional Recycling Coordinator for Western Massachusetts, said.

Among the items that will be accepted at this free event are aerosol cans, oil-based driveway sealant, fertilizers, oil and lead based paint and pesticides.

“These substances are terrible for the environment. Anything on our list of accepted items if either buried or burned would have an impact on the environment that could be very negative, Miller said.

“While a lot of these items are liquids everything you bring does not have to be a liquid. We have had people bring things like pelletized fertilizers and we accept those,” she concluded.

In addition to the list of accepted items, there is a very strict list of materials that are not to be brought to the collection, including latex paint, computers and televisions and fluorescent light bulbs.

Both lists are available through the town halls.

“We don’t collect televisions and computers because the towns involved in this collection already have programs to collect them,” Miller said. “Latex paint is also near the top of the list because it can be dried out and thrown away.”

Miller said that by regionalizing this collection, the event will reach a greater number of people at a minimal cost.

“We do this regionally because there is more value and a deeper pool of people to attract,” she said. “If we went to each town, the cost would be a lot more, so this method is much more cost-effective.”

Between 200 and 300 cars are expected to come through the collection area.

In order to take advantage of this collection, residents must contact representatives from their respective town halls to set up an appointment. Appointments will be scheduled on Sept. 6, 7 and 8 only with no exceptions and proof of residency is required.

East Longmeadow residents should call 525-5400 ext. 1100 between the hours of 9 a.m. and noon. Those in Hampden should call 566-2151 ext. 102 between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Appointments may be scheduled between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. for residents of Longmeadow (567-3400) and Ludlow (583-5625 ext. 17). Wilbraham residents who have a valid Disposal and Recycling Center sticker may set up an appointment by calling 596-2800 ext. 208.

Miller added that in addition to these towns, under special circumstances people in other communities could take advantage of the collection.

“A lot of these materials are things that don’t need to be thrown away immediately, so they hang around the house. The only time they need to be disposed of quickly is in a case where someone is moving or something like that,” Miller said. “If someone in Agawam were to talk to their town hall and had special circumstances, we could work it out with them.”