Q: Must you bring proof of where you live to bring items to the North Park drop-off for household hazardous waste? Is it just for residents of Allegheny County? I live in Butler County, but want to pick up things from my mother's home in Allegheny County. I would like to know this before I go to all the trouble of getting the items and driving them down.

JAN GIRDANO
Butler

A: For you, Jan, no proof required. The Household Hazardous Waste Collection is at the North Park swimming pool parking lot from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday. It is open to any resident of Pennsylvania.

"If you drive up with Ohio or West Virginia license plates," said David Mazza of the Pennsylvania Resources Council, "they will question you. This is an expensive event and is partially funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection."

This event is to help safely dispose of all that stuff that's sitting under the kitchen sink, in basements and on garage shelves all over the state. We're talking about old paint, paint thinners, pesticides, drain openers, aerosol cans and motor oil -- all of that stuff that you hang onto because you don't know how to get rid of it.

There is a price to pay. The average family can figure on spending anywhere from $25 to $35. There is a $2 charge per gallon of household hazardous waste. Count on paying $1 per small can or bottle, $2 for larger bottles. Bring cash. No credit cards or checks will be accepted.

Why pay? Why not just dump it yourself? If you dump these products down the drain, Mazza said, it can play havoc with your pipes, not to mention the sewage system. Try dumping it in the back yard and you are putting your children and pets in danger. Hide it in the trash and you literally put the lives of sanitation workers in danger. The right mix of the wrong chemicals can cause toxic fumes, fires and explosions.

The good news for you, Jan, is that you might not have to drive all the way to North Park.

There will be four additional household hazardous waste pick-ups throughout the summer. Butler County's day is Aug. 28.

For more information on hazardous waste disposal, you can call 412-488-7452 or go to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Household Hazardous Waste Web site: www.swpahhw.org.

By the way, don't bring ammunition, explosives or radioactive waste -- as in smoke detectors -- with you Saturday. That'll be another day.