Keeping track of these and hundreds of other household hazardous-waste programs is one of the jobs of the Waste Watch Center, a nonprofit organization based in Andover, Massachusetts. With a staff of five and a network of contacts in every state, the Waste Watch Center has data on the nearly 8,000 household hazardous-waste programs conducted across the US since 1980.

To say the least, the increase in programs has been dramatic. In 1980, there were only two household hazardous-waste programs in the country; but in 1994, there the 1,543 says Dana Duxbury, president of the Waste Watch Center.

The Waste Watch Center also serves as a clearinghouse of information on hazardous-waste issues, and it publishes a quarterly newsletter that follows progress in every state. Through such efforts, Duxbury says the center tries to answer three key questions:

1. What are the products you need to be concerned about?
2. Why should you be concerned about them?
3. What can you do about them?

According to Duxbury, household hazardous waste generally falls into five categories -- paint, pesticides, household cleaners, automotive products, and the catchall "other" category (which includes everything from batteries and pool chemicals to glues and explosives).

When these products are improperly discarded, she notes, they can put a strain on a city's wastewater system, pollute streams and lakes, and contaminate septic systems. And since a lot of these products create fumes, they can even create indoor air-quality problems when used inside.

Most of the household hazardous-waste programs across the country hold short-term events, in which people can take their hazardous materials to a site on one particular day or weekend. But there is also a growing trend toward permanent drop-off sites in the country. By 1994, there were 227 permanent sites in 31 different states.

In the future, Cuxbury sees a continuing expansion in the types of hazardous waste that these sites will accept. For example, some programs now encourage people to bring in their old fluorescent light bulbs -- the second leading source of mercury in the waste stream. Batteries are currently the leading source of mercury, but with new designs by manufacturers, that could soon change, Duxbury says.

"There has also been a greater opportunity to recycle paint," she adds. Some paint manufacturers purchase the paint turned in at hazardous-waste collection sites, then process it and sell it commercially. According to Duxbury, the quality of recycled paint is roughly equivalent to that of medium-grade paint.

Other new trends have been an increasing use of mobile units to collect hazardous waste, as well as a focus on redistributing collected materials. For example, if a product is of low toxicity,is in its original container, and meets other criteria, some programs let people come in and pick products off the shelf; other programs distribute the products to nonprofit organizations and businesses.