Brandon is likely to get a household hazardous waste depot under a new provincial program announced on Monday, however the impact that has on a local service club’s bi-annual hazardous waste collection drive is uncertain.
Traditionally, Brandon’s Rotary Club community and partners have taken part in annual collection drives that allowed people to bring in their household hazardous goods to city-owned buildings, where it was safely disposed of.
Under a new plan that starts on May 1, leftover paint can be dropped off at the following locations in Brandon: Windsor Plywood at 1840 18th St. N, Rona at 2402 Park Ave., Janzen’s Paint and Decorating at 2510 Park Ave., General Paint at 1136 18th St., and Brandon Home Hardware at 1020 18th St.
These are temporary depots, to be used until a facility is set up at the Eastview Landfill that can handle paint, compact fluorescent light bulbs and tubes and other goods, Brandon public works director Ian Broome said.
“We should have a full time depot running by Oct. 1,” Broome said. “Then we wouldn’t have the other depots. You could come out to the Eastview Landfill during regular business hours six days a week except stat holidays.”
Broome said a full-time depot will be more efficient for both those dropping off goods and those collecting them for disposal.
“A lot of people really want to do the right thing, but I wonder how many get frustrated if they wait in line or miss the event and then they have to wait for the next event,” Broome said. “Do they hang on to it? Do they get frustrated and pour it down the drain? Do they throw it out in the garbage? I don’t know, but I know there could be a lot more captured.”
The program, to be administered by the Product Care Association, will be paid for by levies charged up front at the point of purchase on items that should be disposed of through these new centres, similar to the environmental levies charged on soft drink containers. The differences are the levies on hazardous goods will be much higher.
Broome said the levies would vary from 15 cents on some light bulbs to $1.50 on five-litre pails of paint.
This could negate the need for the collection drives that Brandon Rotarians and partners had run for more than 20 years.
“It seems to be pretty vague on how they will set up these collection days and we are in the dark,” said Nonny Cancade, president of the Rotary Club of Brandon Noon Hour.
“We don’t know what is happening. They haven’t released any details to our sources.”
Cancade said the program has been an important one for Brandon over the years.
“We‘d like to stay involved, but it depends on what incarnation this program takes,” Cancade said.
» kborkowsky@brandonsun.com
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition April 25, 2012
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