News

 

Spring Cleaning
By Mark Arienti, Gray Solid Waste Committee

Gray--Yesterday was the first day of spring, and this year, unlike most years, there was almost no snow left in the yard. Although its cold and a burden to shovel, the great thing about snow is that it covers up all the stuff left around last fall, like the leaves, and the pile of brush at the end of the driveway.

Winter also gives us an excuse to "hole up" inside by the wood stove to keep warm. But spring is the time to get out of hibernation, to open the shades, let the fresh air in, and clean out the old stuff. Especially down in the basement and the garage, where many of us have stacked half-used cans of paint, pesticides, cleaning solvents, and drain cleaners.

We may ask ourselves how it all accumulated, but the more important question is what in the world can be done with them. It's cluttering the basement and it's got to go, but wait, where do they go? Can I throw them in the garbage?

A friend in Burlington, Vermont tells me that he takes these kinds of chemicals to the local Household Hazardous Materials Recycling and Disposal Center that's open 3 days a week, but there's no such place around here. Further inquiry tells us that the incinerator in Portland where these things will go if they are put in the garbage is designed to handle these types of materials safely as long as they are in small quantities, but is this really the correct solution?

Disposal of Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) is a difficult issue; it's also an issue in which Maine lags behind much of the country where collection programs are more abundant. Bills have been proposed in the Legislature to provide funding mechanisms to pay for disposal of HHW. Last year, a bill was put before the legislature to fund disposal of HHW by placing a fee on purchase of paints and pesticides, but this idea failed.

Some towns, however, have decided to fund collections either on their own or with neighboring towns. In fact, Gray was part of a regional effort last year along with North Yarmouth, New Gloucester, Pownal and Windham. Two collections were held in August at a cost of approximately $22,000, one in Windham and one in New Gloucester at the Morse School.

However, these saw very little attendance (a total of only 35 from Gray). Does this mean that people from Gray don't feel this is an important issue? Although only a band-aid, the Maine State Planning Office (SPO) is providing a 50% cost-share reimbursement for HHW programs held during 2004. Do we in Gray think it's important to provide and pay for a service for disposal of these materials or do we want to continue putting this stuff in our garbage bags?

Please let us or your fellow citizens know. Join us at our monthly meeting on the second Wednesday of every month, or send your ideas or comments to the Gray Solid Waste & Recycling Committee care of pthoits2@maine.rr.com or call Solid Waste Director Randy Cookson at 657-2343.