With spring quickly approaching, the Town of Hempstead is preparing for another year of S.T.O.P (Stop Throwing Out Pollutants) Programs, which will be brought to communities throughout the township.

Hempstead Town is an environmentally sensitive municipality, and with our S.T.O.P. Program we lead the way in recycling and the responsible disposal of hazardous household waste.

The S.T.O.P Program affords residents the opportunity to dispose of hazardous household material at convenient locations. By properly disposing of these hazardous wastes, we are preventing them from entering the waste stream and harming our delicate ecosystem.

Among the many items found around the house that should not be thrown out with the regular garbage are: bleach, ammonia, antifreeze, pesticides (including "Weed-B-Gone" or Silvex 2, 4, 5-T), cleaning solvents, disinfectants, drain cleaners, oven cleaners, paint and paint thinners, photography and swimming pool chemicals, spot removers and small propane tanks.

It is now possible to properly dispose of many common household waste products by simply bringing them to a S.T.O.P Program disposal site.

The schedule of the S.T.O.P Program is complete for 2004, with the first day scheduled for Sunday, March 21 at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow. All program hours are from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Other dates and locations are:

Long Beach: Saturday, April 17 on Pine Street off National Boulevard.

Bellmore: Sunday, May 23 at the Newbridge Road Park garage.

East Rockaway: Sunday, June 13 at Bay Park.

Levittown: Saturday, July 17 at the Town Parking Field, Division Avenue (off Hempstead Tpke.)

Uniondale: Saturday, August 14 at the Greenfield Cemetery garage on Nassau Road (use Milburn Avenue entrance).

Bellmore: Saturday, September 18 at the Newbridge Road Park garage.

Valley Stream: Sunday, October 17 at the Valley Stream State Park, Parking Field #1.

Baldwin: Saturday, November 6 at Baldwin Park garage on Grand Avenue.

East Meadow: Sunday, December 5 at Eisenhower Park, Field #3, between Hempstead Turnpike and Merrick Avenue.

S.T.O.P., in conjunction with the town's other "environmentally-friendly" programs, will keep the Town of Hempstead "green and clean" for future generations.

For more information or to obtain written material on the Town of Hempstead's S.T.O.P Program, call the recycling section of the Department of Sanitation at (516) 378-2200.