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City to host Household Hazardous Waste Day Saturday

Sep 14, 2018 | 2:36 PM

The city is encouraging residents to take advantage of a free event Saturday to dispose of toxic materials, batteries, medications and other types of hazardous waste.

Household Hazardous Waste Day runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Old City Yards just off Sixth Avenue East. The yards will be open for local residents to safely drop off unwanted household items, including chemicals, cleaners, adhesives, aerosols, batteries, and corrosive materials.

Used propane cylinders will not be accepted this year, unlike in past events, as city staff said those items can now be taken to the Prince Albert landfill for safe disposal. Mohammed Kraishan, operations manager with the City of Prince Albert, told paNOW that more residents are recognizing the need for safe disposal of potentially hazardous materials. 

“It’s really important, especially the household hazardous material can be toxic, flammable and it also can harm the environment,” Kraishan said. “That material cannot be accepted at the landfill. That’s why we are hosting this special event.”

Last year, Kraishan said the city collected more than 15,000 kilograms of household hazardous waste during two collection events. In 2016, the city collected 7,780 kilograms.

“So, you can see there’s an increasing trend here, which we really appreciate. We do encourage the people to come out and make sure that they benefit from this program,” he said.

Industrial waste will not be accepted Saturday, Kraishan said. Electronics waste and used oil are also excluded from the list of approved items that will be accepted. That’s because SARCAN recycles used electronics through their SWEEP program, and the local landfill handles safe disposal of used oil, filters, containers and tires.

 

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt