EASTON, Maine — The Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning to area residents this week urging them to be careful when handling returnable bottles they may find in dumpsters or trash receptacles.
The warning was issued after an employee of a local business found a plastic bottle that apparently had been used to manufacture methamphetamine. The bottle was found Monday afternoon in a dumpster.
The bottle was removed from the dumpster as a possible “returnable” before the employee became suspicious and called police, Aroostook County Sheriff Darrell Crandall said in a written statement.
Sheriff’s deputies responded and confirmed the hazard.
The bottle contained chemical residuals of a so-called “shake and bake” or “one-pot” method of methamphetamine manufacturing.
Members of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the state Department of Environmental Protection were called in to properly dispose of the hazardous material.
In his release, Crandall urged members of the public to be aware and avoid handling items they suspect may have been used to make meth, and to instead call police.