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The following is being distributed at the request of the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board: Household Hazardous Waste Program diverts thousands of litres of waste from landfills The Multi-Materials Stewardship Board�s (MMSB) Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Program was a success this year with 72,000 litres of hazardous waste collected. From June to October of 2004, MMSB held 16 events in 11 communities with 2,800 households participating in the collection program. The HHW program provides safe hazardous waste collection for participating municipalities, raises awareness of household hazardous waste issues, and helps establish partnerships and linkages in participating communities to deal with this important waste management challenge. Collection events were held this year in Torbay, Portugal Cove-St. Phillips, Mount Pearl, Paradise, Conception Bay South, Conception Bay Centre, Carbonear, Marystown, Gander, Corner Brook, and Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The City of St. John�s and the Green Bay Waste Authority Inc. also held events under their own sponsorship. "Since 1998, MMSB�s Household Hazardous Waste Program has made a difference, not only in keeping hazardous material out of waste disposal sites, but in creating public awareness about the importance of recycling and reuse of this waste product," said John Scott, MMSB Chair and CEO. "Over the past seven years, the HHW program has provided many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians with a safe, environmentally-friendly way to dispose of unwanted household hazardous wastes at no direct cost to participating residents. MMSB is pleased with the success of the program over the past number of years and is committed to continuing this service until more permanent HHW collection systems can be put in place by regional waste management committees and municipalities throughout the province." Tom Osborne, Minister of Environment and Conservation, said the success of this year's household hazardous waste collection program shows that public awareness about the importance of diverting waste from our landfills is growing. "This is an important waste management initiative and one that I fully support. I want to commend the municipalities who participated this year, as well as all residents who ensured the safe disposal of their household hazardous waste through this program," said the minister. "Recycling household hazardous waste materials plays an important part in our overall waste diversion efforts and helps meet our goal of reducing the amount of waste going to landfills by 50 per cent." Collection events for next year will commence in May of 2005 and run until October. MMSB will use the results gathered from this year�s program to help shape the design of the program in 2005 and subsequent years. The funding partners for the HHW program are the MMSB, Environment Canada, and the participating municipalities. In addition to providing Newfoundland and Labrador residents with safe disposal options for their household hazardous waste, MMSB has also produced public education HHW guides for municipalities and residents to assist communities in developing their own programs and provide residents with information about the safe usage and disposal of household hazardous wastes. Both guides are available by contacting MMSB at 1-800-901-MMSB or on-line at www.mmsb.nf.ca. MMSB is a provincial Crown agency that reports to the Minister of Environment and Conservation. MMSB supports modern waste management programs in the province, with a particular focus on waste reduction, recycling and public education, in order to ensure a clean and healthy environment throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. Media contact: 2004 11 25 10:45 a.m. |
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