Shall the Town of Hampton vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $20,000 for the purpose of conducting two (2) household hazardous waste collection days during calendar year 2019; and to authorize the Board of Selectmen to permit the Town of New Castle to participate in said collection days at their own expense; and to apply for, accept and expend for such purpose any funds from the State of New Hampshire, the Federal Government, and any private source as may be made available? Majority vote required)
What it means: This is the opportunity for homeowners to responsibly dispose of corrosive or flammable items that would be a danger if they were to end up in the regular trash. Products such as paint thinner, spot remover, oven cleaner, furniture polish, drain opener, pool chemicals and hair spray are considered hazardous because they contain chemicals that are corrosive, explosive, reactive, flammable or toxic. Trash disposal of products containing mercury is banned, including thermometers, thermostats, electrical switches and relays, fluorescent light bulbs, button cell batteries.
Those in favor say: There will be two Hazardous Waste Collection Days this year, as a result of feedback from residents via a survey taken at last year’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day. The current plan is for one in June and one in August. Hazardous Waste Collection Day assures that hazardous materials are not left on the street or thrown in the trash. The town has applied for a Household Hazardous Waste Grant from NHDES to offset the costs, and this allows the Town to offer the service at a reasonable cost for taxpayers.
Those against say: No one spoke against this Article at Deliberative Session.
Fiscal impact: The $20,000 cost in 2019 will create an additional tax cost for the average Hampton home valued at $405,000 of $2.45. (Take your property value divided by 1000 and multiply by .006 to get your specific tax impact.) This decision affects the current year only.