City announces Hazardous Waste Clean-up
By Angela Greiner Community Reporter
Marlborough - Tired of looking at the empty oil containers stacking up in the garage? Don't miss the city's bi-annual Hazardous Waste Clean-up Day Saturday May 10. The clean-up will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Easterly Water Pollution Control Facility located behind the Halfway Café.

Brian Palmer, who is involved with the city's Recycling Committee and the Litter League, explained that it is essential for residents to take advantage of this event. Just a few drops of products, like motor oil, in the wrong place can be devastating, he said.

"Oil-based products need to stay out of our water streams," he said.

Many residents often do not hesitate when disposing of hazardous products in landfills. It may take years, he said, but one way or another, hazardous materials like mercury and oil in landfills will run off into the ground and eventually into the water.

One item that Palmer said was not hazardous, but homeowners often think is, is most household paint. With the movement from oil-based paints to waterbased paints, only the oilbased paints and stains are hazardous. To dispose of water-based paint, Palmer recommended taking the lid off of the can and letting the paint dry.

One product that Palmer is concerned about being properly disposed of are compact fluorescent light bulbs. Although the new bulbs are a good energysaving alternative, they still need to be properly disposed of.

"What starts out in one home with a few light bulbs as a little bit of mercury, in a city of homes becomes a lot of mercury," Palmer said.

To participate in the clean-up, residents must bring proof of residency (a bill with an address or a driver's license). Palmer hopes that residents will take advantage of this free opportunity.

For a complete list of hazardous wastes that will be accepted, visit the website at www.marlborough-ma. gov.