As summer winds down and we get ready for fall, it's time to take a good hard look at your yard, garage and basement. It's time to get rid of the old propane tank, the pile of cement and most importantly the unwanted cleaners and chemicals that are just sitting in your home. We all have them. The leftover can of paint from when you painted the shed 10 years ago! The coffee can of oil from when you actually did your last oil change. Drain cleaners, pesticides, tires, batteries - the list can go on and on. With all kidding aside, these dangerous items should not be in your home.

The Town of Oyster Bay initiated its STOP (Stop Throwing Out Pollutants) program in 1986 as a means of providing town residents with a safe disposal means for household substances which if discarded improperly pose a threat to the ground water. The next STOP collection is on Aug. 20 at the Hicksville Fire Department on West John Street. You can bring most pesticides and insecticides, brake and transmission fluids, solvents and many other items. On this day you can also bring your electronic waste. The Electronic Waste Recycling Program allows you to bring computer monitors, hard drives, copiers, fax machines, VCRs and other similar products to the collection point so that their components can be recycled ensuring that they won't end up in the landfill or incinerator.

The TOB on Aug. 13 is also holding its fifth of eight Homeowners' Cleanup. On this day TOB residents can take unwanted rubbish to the town's Solid Waste Disposal Complex on Bethpage-Sweet Hollow Road in Old Bethpage from 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. You can bring bushes, tree limbs, fence posts and similar items. They do not have to be broken up into smaller pieces. Used tires, large metal items in excess of four feet, yard waste, clean fill and clean broken cement will be accepted. Only four-wheel drive vehicles will be allowed and proof of residency must be shown.

Please take the time to walk through your home and yard and remove the dangerous and unnecessary items that have accumulated. Why risk any future accidents when you have the perfect opportunity to remove them from your home. For more information on the STOP program you can call 677-5748 or visit the TOB website at www.oysterbaytown.