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GENNEWS

Official Concerned About Hazardous Waste Disposal

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

It is early December and you have just finished painting your house. You have

several cans of oil-based paint you'd like to get rid of, but the town's

hazardous waste collection day is nearly a year away. What do you do?

According to Public Works Director Fred Hurley, there are some who are not

willing to wait that long. Instead, they will simply toss the hazardous

material in a garbage bag and throw it out with the rest of the trash, or pour

it down the drain or in the backyard. Others, who are more concerned with the

environment, must store these toxic materials until the annual autumn

collection day at the Danbury Public Works garage. Newtown shares the cost of

hazardous waste collection with Danbury.

"We're getting to the point where we're forcing people to destroy their

property," noted Selectman Jim Mooney at Monday's meeting of the Board of

Selectmen.

Because the handling of this hazardous material could result in toxic

exposure, highly paid, licensed workers must be brought in to deal with the

material on collection days. As Mr Hurley points out, the town could not

simply put out a big box to be used for toxic waste collection.

Mr Hurley said the number of people showing up with material on the designated

dumping days have decreased substantially in recent years, indicating

residents are either forgetting about the collection or are finding other ways

to rid themselves of the hazardous waste.

Also, the town used to share its collection day with Bethel at the more

conveniently located Stony Hill Fire Department on Route 6.

Mr Hurley said he would contact Brookfield and Bethel to see if Newtown could

join in on their collection days.

Other common household items deemed hazardous waste include wet-cell

batteries, insecticides, heavy-duty solvents, de-greasing chemicals, and

anti-freeze.