The annual household hazardous materials roundup offers Englewood and Littleton residents the opportunity to recycle items like paint, lawn chemicals and even office equipment like computers and printers free of charge.

The 18th edition of the event will be held 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 12 and again the same hours on Sept. 19 at the Englewood ServiCenter, 2800 S. Platte River Drive.

The Keep Englewood Beautiful Commission, the City of Englewood and the City of Littleton join forces to sponsor the project.

The event is limited to Englewood and Littleton resident and people who drop off materials must present proof that they live in one of the two cities. Staff won’t accept materials from residents of other communities or from commercial firms.

There is a limit of 10 gallons of material per vehicle, and there is a cost of $20 to drop off items at the household hazardous roundup. There is no charge to drop off cell phones, toner cartridges, fax machines and computers but there is a charge of $10 per monitor and a $20 co-pay to drop off a television set.

Items that can be dropped off at the roundup include automobile batteries, oil-based paints, flammable liquids like gasoline and paint thinner, lawn and garden chemicals and propane tanks.

The roundup also will accept mercury-containing devices, including thermometers, thermostats, relays and blood pressure gages.

While the roundup will accept antifreeze and motor oil, organizers remind residents it isn’t necessary to save those until the roundup, because a number of Englewood and Littleton businesses accept the items free of charge all year so the materials can be recycled. A list of those businesses is given to those who visit the roundup.

Latex paint will no longer be accepted. Over the history of the roundup, hundreds of gallons of latex paint have been collected, but it is no longer considered a hazardous material and can be disposed of by removing the lid to dry it out, then putting it in the trash. Adding kitty litter to the mix speeds up the drying process. Another option is to pour the latex paint in a plastic-lined cardboard box, which works best if the paint is an inch deep or less.

The first roundup was held in 1992 and was for Englewood residents only. In 1998, the program was expanded to include Littleton residents.

About 200 people normally visit the event. The goal is to recycle all the materials collected. However, the cost of the project increases every year. In 1997, the cost of recycling was about $50 per customer. By last year, the cost had increased to about $80 per customer.

The roundup is staffed by volunteers from Keep Englewood Beautiful Commission, the City of Littleton, Littleton and Englewood firefighters, and employees of Safety-Kleen, a hazardous-material recycling company in Englewood. Executive Recycling will recycle the office equipment cell phones and computers. Fees from residents who use the service, donations from area companies, the committee and from the two cities also help offset costs.

For information, Englewood residents can call 303-762-2342, and Littleton residents can call 303-795-3748.