Saturday is STOP day, for Stop Throwing Out Pollutants, in East Hampton. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., residents can take hazardous household materials to the town's recycling center at 260 Springs-Fireplace Road for proper disposal.
Acceptable items for the STOP day program are aerosol cans, ammonia, antifreeze, household batteries, bleach, insect and rodent poisons, chemistry sets, degreasers, disinfectants, drain cleaners, fertilizers with herbicides, one-time-use fire extinguishers, flammable liquids like fire starters, gasoline, and diesel fuel, kerosene, lacquers, oil-based paints, oven cleaners, paint strippers, paint thinners and brush cleaners, photography chemicals, polishes and wood preservatives, solvents, spot removers, swimming pool chemicals, thermostats containing mercury, varnish, and weed killers.
When taking items for disposal, residents have been asked to wrap leaking containers in newspaper and place them in a plastic bag or larger container, ensure that all caps and lids are tightly secured, place items securely in a box for transport, use newspaper or cardboard to keep items from tipping or hitting each other, and place chemicals that may react with each other in separate areas of the vehicle. Products should not be left in a hot, unventilated vehicle for an extended period of time, and smoking should not occur near chemical products. Rubber gloves should be worn when handling containers.
STOP days are not available to commercial businesses. Those seeking information on disposal of commercial hazardous waste have been asked to call the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's regional office at 631-444-0375.
STOP day is a biannual event, with the recycling center and the Montauk transfer station each designating one day per year on which residents are permitted to dispose of hazardous household materials. The Montauk transfer station will host a STOP day on Nov. 7.