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

The 19th edition of the event will be held 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 11 and again the same hours on Sept. 18 at the Englewood ServiCenter, 2800 S. Platte River Drive.

Members of the Keep Englewood Beautiful Commission, the city of Englewood and the city of Littleton join forces with the recycling company PSC and Electronic Recyclers International to staff the event and collect the items dropped off..

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 $25 per television set.

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

The roundup also will accept liquid mercury -containing devices like thermometers, thermostats and blood-pressure gauges.

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.

One item that is no longer accepted is Latex paint since 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. Once the paint has dried out, it can be put in the trash.

The first roundup was held in 1992 and was for Englewood residents only. In ’98, the program was expanded to include Littleton residents. About 200 people normally visit the event.

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 303-762-2345 and Littleton residents can call 303-795-3748.