Household Hazardous Waste Collection Planned in Lee

11:45AM / Tuesday, July 01, 2008Print Story | Email Story

LEE - On Saturday, July 12, the Center for Ecological Technology (CET) will conduct a comprehensive household hazardous waste collection from 9 a.m. to noon at the Lee DPW, 45 Railroad Street. The collection is for south Berkshire towns. Businesses may participate for a fee.

All manner of household hazardous waste will be accepted—including oil-based paints, stains, varnishes, thinners, solvent adhesives, lighter fluid, fuels, antifreeze, polishes, pool chemicals, insecticides, fertilizers and weed killers, moth balls, poisons, flea control products, rubber cement, photo chemicals, chemistry sets, artist supplies, mercury thermometers and thermostats, compact and tube fluorescent lamps and much more.

Pre-registration with CET is required for the collection.

This program is sponsored by the 15 towns that form the South Berkshire Household Hazardous Waste Collaborative. The participating towns are: Alford, Becket, Egremont, Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, Monterey, Mount Washington, New Marlborough, Otis, Richmond, Sheffield, Stockbridge, Tyringham and West Stockbridge.

Latex paint will not be accepted at either event. Empty or dried-up cans of latex paint can be disposed with the regular trash. Empty cans of oil-based paint, stains and solvents can be disposed with the regular trash as well. Usable paint can be given away through freecycle.org or some non-profits.

To pre-register or for information about what can be brought to either of these collections, visit www.cetonline.org or email amandad@cetonline.org. Or call Amanda at 413-445-4556 ext. 17. Residents from communities that are not participating should call their City or Town Hall for information about household hazardous product collections.

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Berkshire County Sheriff's Office Warns Public of Phone Scam

03:45PM / Friday, September 25, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. —Berkshire County Sheriff Thomas Bowler is warning members of the community about an ongoing phone scam involving individuals falsely claiming to be employees of, or affiliated with, the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office has received an increased number of calls from community members reporting that they were contacted by someone claiming to be a member of the Sheriff's Office from numbers with 413 area codes that sometimes show up on a caller ID as Berkshire County Sheriff's Department. During these calls, the caller claims the resident owes money for various reasons and attempts to collect payment. Scammers may request money orders, cashier checks, gift cards, or other items. Sometimes scammers will say a courier will come to a house to pick up the item or will request that account or gift card information be read over the phone.

The Berkshire County Sheriff's Office will never call a community member to demand or collect payment, request gift cards, or ask for. The Berkshire County Sheriff's Office will never send a courier to a resident's house. Residents should not assume a call is legitimate simply because the Sheriff's Office number appears on their caller ID.

Residents should not assume a call is legitimate simply because the Sheriff's Office number appears on their caller ID. The scammers are also spoofing the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office phone number, causing the legitimate number to appear on the recipient's caller ID in an effort to make the call appear authentic. Spoofing is when a scammer disguises a phone number, email address, or website to look like someone they know or a trusted agency's number.

"Scammers use fear, urgency, and the credibility of law enforcement to convince people that their demands are legitimate," said Sheriff Thomas Bowler. "If you receive a call like this, hang up. Do not provide personal or financial information, and do not send or transfer money."

Residents who receive a suspicious call should independently contact the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office at (413) 443-7220 to verify whether the call was legitimate. Do not use a phone number provided by the caller to verify their identity.

Sheriff Bowler urges residents to share this information with family members, friends, and neighbors, particularly those who may be more vulnerable to these types of scams.

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